Looking Up

Good news! We got our travel orders yesterday, after getting some helpful advice from a fellow FS blogger.  This is huge, because now we can make our travel reservations, schedule our packout, and get the rest of our dip passports. I wasn't able to properly celebrate yesterday, what with ear and hangnail infections to deal with and a sweaty, rotund, shirtless plumber tearing holes in the house (I just threw up in my mouth remembering that......... *shudder*), but I am going to champagne it up tonight.

We also have a place to live. Not in Brasilia, mind you, this isn't a Disney movie, gah. It's more of a place to hang our hat when we're on home leave in eastern Washington (the proper, west coast Washington, that is). I haven't actually seen the place.  Mitch picked it out, but I'm told there's trees and mountains and whatnot, and lots of acres so I won't have to see humans if I don't want to.  Also, it needs a roof:

The house could probably stand to be a little bigger, too, although the Polly Pockets seem to be enjoying it.  Since my old man likes to do everything himself, and we'll only be home once a year at most, I expect we should be moving in right about when it's time to hit the nursing home. I kid! Sort of. Fortunately, we generally agree on most aspects of the design, except for the air conditioning.  He doesn't want it, and assures me that the house is going to be designed to be self-cooling and completely green, blahblahblah. The thing is, I'm a delicate flower and I hate to be hot. "Fine, then you can have a window unit in the bedroom," he snapped conceded. "Okay, and then I'm going to put a lock on the door and not let you use any of my delicious cool air," I maturely replied. I know, he's a very lucky man. I'm pretty sure people tell him that all the time after they meet me.  I'm definitely going to include one of those wine dumbwaiters, though, even if we have to hand dig a cellar just so I can have bottles of wine magically pop up out of a hole in the wall.