[Christ]

Going on the advice of several of you, and of course, common sense, I've decided a few things:

1. The North and East faces of the home will be "built in" to the hill, which will allow access to the:
2. Green Roof. It's a necessity, allowing for a larger yard with less actual acreage (we're cutting trees to make this lot...)
3. The Southern-most face will probably have WINDOWS! all over it, in two planes across it's face, so that we can let out the heat in the summer.
4. Solar-Thermal Coolant Circulation - of course, being dug in, this might actually heat the house alone, provided the circuit is large enough. As an added benefit, the energy of the heated coolant can make hot water for showers, and any excess coolant that is diverted into the cooling coils (so as not to overheat the house/water) can be used to help generate electricity, keeping the house as off-grid as I can without spending too much money!
5. The sun doesn't actually hit the southern face of the "shadow house" that I built in my head until about mid-morning, which is nice for my 2nd shift personal schedule.
6. Instead of backfilling with mortar, though it will take longer, the walls will be packed with small rocks and mud, helping with thermal mass and insulating better than UltraTouch*.