Channeling Tom Selleck - Distraction from Syria, Part 2

I'm not saying we shouldn't read the news.  I'm simply offering a break from dreariness of it all.  So, in the spirit of giving back to my fellow Americans, here's a little piece of my distorted mind that I hope will make you smile.   Happy Friday!  Happy Thursday night if you're on the other side of the world!
 -----------------------
(UPDATE:  After re-reading this, I feel compelled to offer a quick caveat.  Just because someone appears on this list, does NOT mean I find them dreamy.  Some people just fit the mold so perfectly, they couldn't be overlooked. K...I feel better now.)

The other day, Z wore a shirt unbuttoned just so to reveal a patch of burly man chest hairs.  He will HATE that I used the word "burly" there. In fact, he might hate that I brought up his chest hairs in a public forum at all.  But who cares!?

I always giggle and say something like, "What's up Tom?" when he does this but secretly, I think it's pretty sexy.  Men SHOULD have chest hair and I absolutely HATE IT when they shave but that, my friends, is a story for another post.  You guys (er...mostly gals, I suppose) know what I'm getting to here don't you?  Who is the king of chest hair?  That's right...Tom Freakin' Selleck! He's also the king of mustaches but, again, story for another post.

So my handsome husband and Tom Selleck got me thinkin' - who else in our wide world is unafraid of chest hair exposure (aka man cleavage).  Down the rabbit hole I go......to bring you "The Not So Definitive List of People You Might Know Who Often (or Even Occasionally) Show The World Their PG-rated Short and Curlies".  OMG - I KILL me!

I find Simon Cowell to be a total DB but he is a frequent chest-hair-revealer so, on the list he goes.

Jude-mutha-grubbin-Law

It's rumored that Tom Jones' chest hair is actually insured...to the tune of 7 MILLION big ones!

Holy shit!  I just had me a gibgasm!  What a hunka man he was/is!  Nom nom nom nom nom

And in other news....

Because surely a wet suit/vest outfit needs to be unzipped....down to there.

And of course, the one and only...TOM SELLECK.  Ignoring the fact that he's advertising girly cigarettes, is that not the best photo of him ever?  Look at those eyes!  The dimples!  The chesticles!  Burly.Man.Hunk. 

Skinny Bitches and Little People

That's my birthday, in a nutshell.  Ok ok - so I'm just a wee (pun intended) behind in posting this but since it's technically still my birthday month, I'm allowed a certain amount of tardiness.  It's written in the law of August birthdays.  Look it up if you don't believe me.  

There are a lot of things I could have done to mark the occasion of my birthday.  I could have gone out to a nice dinner or treated myself to some cheesecake....you name it.  But when it came time to decide what would make the day really memorable, I chose The Hobbit House and I think when you see the photos, you'll understand why there really was no other option. 

This is on our way out and I'm sure that's obvious for a number of reasons, not the least of which includes the fact that I'm sitting on the ground in one of the more seedy parts of town.  When I say "seedy", you should really start to have visions of people peeing on sidewalks and women "singing" at karaoke bars.  And when I say "singing", I mean selling their souls and bodies.  But anyhoo....I was having fun so who cares!

As you can see, The Hobbit House is staffed (predominantly) by little people.  It is as hokey and as kitschy as you can get with references to Tolkien, T-shirts with any number of little person catch phrases ("small is beautiful", "i love hobbits" ...you get the idea), and a bathroom stall door so short I could easily see people coming and going from inside.  But it's one of those things that has made so many international top 10 lists that you just have to do it....once.  And once only.  I actually think that I owe the friends that went with us BIG TIME...because this was their second trip.  I honestly can't imagine going back; I guess it would have to be someone's birthday.  :)
 

That's our waitress Monette along with Z and our bottles of "complimentary" booze.  Complimentary in quotes because we had to drink several beers to acquire them.  I shudder to think what they might actually taste like and would have preferred the original offer of a free t-shirt with the purchase of several beers but....when in Rome. Monette was fabulous.  If you ever find yourself at The Hobbit House, ask for her.  She'll treat you right.  She might overcharge you - but she'll treat you right.  (Our bill was ENORMOUS by Manila standards and we still can't figure out if the math was done incorrectly or we just drank THAT much.  Perhaps a little of both.)  I think Monette would have been in love with the guys in our party regardless of the amount we spent.  She was nice to me but I could have been the Queen of England and she wouldn't have known - the girl was smitten.

She was nice enough to stop and take a picture with me though :)

Monette also indulged my "skinny bitch" requests (Thank you Katie!).  Long story short, a skinny bitch is a drink that my sister in law turned my on to and once I explained what it was to Monette, every time she delivered my drink, she would smile and say, "And a skinny bitch for the lady!"  Something about those words coming from that little lady in The Hobbit House in Manila - well....I think my life is a little more complete.

One thing I am enormously thankful for?  We did NOT NOT NOT eat at The Hobbit House.  Other than the peanuts that were on the table, none of us had anything that you could, well, chew.  On the one hand, it might have been smart to eat something given all of the adult beverages we were ingesting.  On the other hand, huh-uh no way!  The Hobbit House is one of those places you NEVER want to see in the harsh light of day and, as a rule, if you don't want to see a place in the daytime, you most certainly do not want to eat there. 

Then again, maybe if I'd ordered chips and salsa or something, the final picture of the night would not have turned out like this: 

Oh, one more thing.  The Hobbit House does boast some of the best live music around.  If you do a little research, you'll find many tripadvisor and yahoo reviewers say the same.  There were a couple different bands the night we were there and Z actually convinced one lady to play Johnny Cash....twice.  Again, it's one of those things that you don't entirely appreciate while it's happening but think about it.  We're sitting in a land far far away, drinking beer at The Hobbit House, and listening to Johnny Cash songs - live.  Just sayin....

Ring of Fire bitches....Ring of Fire (and yes, that's a scrunchy)

I can't wear pointy shoes anymore...and 35 other ways my mid-30s differ greatly from my mid-20s..

1. My flats now officially outnumber my heels.

2. My freckles are combining to form one, large superfreckle.

3. I will never experiment with dark hair colors - gray is only well concealed by blonde.  Sorry my brunette friends.  It's a fact.

4. Vodka is (still) not my friend and more importantly, I am finally realizing she never really was.  Bitch.   

5. I rarely stay up past 11 or sleep in later than 7. 

6. I floss....more than once a day and without anyone telling me to. 

7. I unashamedly buy prunes at the grocery store and actually like the way they taste. 

If you buy this bag, you can trick yourself into thinking you're eating "plums" and not prunes.  Let's not get all attentiony to detailsy ok?  I know they're the same.

8.  My idea of a fun birthday is going to a midget restaurant and going to bed early enough that I can still make the Saturday morning market at 0730. (Seriously, that's what we're doing tonight.  Going to the "Hobbit House" - please try to tell me you're not jealous.  LIAR!)

9. My coffee maker cost more than most people's yearly salary in the Philippines. 

10. I still spend hours at the gym but I have realized life is too short not to have a piece of cake every once in a while. 

11. On the rare occasion I am spotted at "the club", I am usually trying to locate an empty barstool because...#12.

12.  I can't wear pointy shoes anymore....or let's be honest, ANY heels for more than 2 hours.  Screw you heredity and bad decisions!! Screw you!  

13. People are FINALLY doing the math.  She's 35?  Yeah...maybe she's really NOT having kids.  

14.  I think I'm in a different census bracket.  

15. My oldest nephew is in college....and has been for a while now.  This must hurt my sister worse than it does me. BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!  

16.  The outside of the card that my husband gave me this morning says, "To the 35 year old woman who lives with me." WTF?!?!  I shudder to think what it says on the inside.  Then again, it's atop a Hermes bag so how bad could it be??

17. OMG 17! I don't even remember you anymore!

18. I no longer tight roll my jeans although I did give into the skinny jeans trend some time ago.  I am ashamed....(yes, I know that tight rolling was not a 2003 kinda thing but a 35-item-long list is tough ok??)

19. My toes are perpetually polished....and almost always by someone else!  BAM!  I found a 35 year old perk. 

20. I cook.  Like....a lot.  Real meals and shit. 

21. I barely remember what it's like to live in Texas but I will never stop being a Texan!

22. I haven't cried at the sound of a Matchbox Twenty song in over 10 years but I still sing along (er...yell) with P!nk.  That bitch speaks the truf!

23. I no longer consider tight jeans and a halfsy top wardrobe staples.  That is HALF true.  

24. I am a responsible and dedicated pet owner.  Consider this an open apology to Harley, Chevy and Rufus - who I loved but didn't really know how to take care of. 

25. There it is - 25.  TEN EFFING YEARS AGO?!?!  What the hell happened? Well, everything, thank god. 

26. In six months, I will have been away from "home" for 10 years. 

27. I looooooooove grocery shopping.  I liked it in my mid-20s but I couldn't afford anything so, as you can imagine, not so fun.  Now I could (happily) spend a whole day at Wegmans or Harris Teeter or Kroger or Target Superstore.  Sigh...I miss 'Murrica. 

28. I am a wife...and a pretty good one most days. 

29. I regularly plan for retirement and can visualize the library I will build in our dream home....on a lake...surrounded by animals...and family...and....you get the idea. 
 

That picture is like porn to me.

30. I don't thoughtlessly destroy furniture on creative whims.  Hello decoupage!

31. I covet...and can actually afford a full set of Le Creuset cookware.  

32. I have transitioned into quality vs. quantity.  At least, in my mind I have.  Hard.to.let.go.

33. I am pretty good at keeping plants alive.  When I first started dating Z, he had me watch his cactus "Clint" when he went out of town.  I left Clint on the patio - in the winter - in Virginia.  Whoops.
 

RIP Clint

34. I realize I still have a lot of growing up to do but I try to be a better person every day because even though I hope I have a lot of livin' to do, you just never know. 

35. I am happy.  For real....really happy.

How has your life changed in the last 10 years?  Hey FB friends and family...feel free to respond on my actual blog.  I can ask you to do this because, dammit, it's my birthday! :)

One Pot Chicken and Vegetables - so easy, it's a little embarrassing

(Original recipe can be found at The Daily Dish.)

This is how mine turned out (and it was fabulous if I do say so):

I made some minor tweaks to the recipe for personal taste and based on what we had on hand.  You don't have to have a Le Creuset but using a dutch oven is what makes this such an easy recipe.  Being able to move the pot from stovetop to oven is a huge time saver!  My changes are in blue.

1 c. flour - I don't think you need near this much.  I used less than 1/2 c.
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. paprika
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces I had 2 large carrots ....tomAYto/toMAHto
Turkish Bay Leaves (4-5 medium sized)
6 small potatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size) - I used two medium potatoes sliced into about 1 inch pieces
1 T. Herbes de Provence - I am meh on buying Herbes de Provence since most of us have the contents in our pantries.  I used thyme, oregano, basil, and marjoram. You can find Emeril's recipe for Herbes de Provence here.
1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed in hand Omitted (didn't have in pantry)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth

The directions can be found on the original recipe site.  I didn't really change a whole lot in that regard.  I put the Turkish Bay leaves on top before baking.  Used my 4.5 quart Le Creuset Doufeu which is basically a dutch oven with a top that fits a few pieces of ice (putting the ice on top while baking supposedly keeps the meat more tender while cooking).  The potatoes weren't quite done at 30 min so I let the oven go the full 45 min.  Chicken and veggies turned out perfectly. Z liked this recipe a lot so I'll be using it again - he's my biggest fan and harshest critic so I tend to listen when he says anything about my food.  Ugh - that's sorta hard to admit now that I think about it.  Anyway, you should give this a try.  It was an easy and savory meal that didn't require a separate side item.

Sala Restaurant - European Fine Dining in Makati

Hubs and I were looking for a nice place to celebrate our anniversary in Manila and after reading several reviews, I chose Sala Restaurant -- billed as fine dining a la Europe.  To be honest, after a couple of weeks eating at restaurants where the phrase "too much salt" clearly isn't part of the vernacular, we were just looking for something....normal.  We got that (and more) at Sala.  I wouldn't say I was bowled over by the meals themselves but the dessert - best I've had in a looooong time.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's go back to first impressions. 

Sala is small.  Super small.  Quaint might be a good word.  It's literally a "room" which makes sense given I think that's what "Sala" translates to - at least partially.  There's nothing offputting about the size, don't get me wrong.  We were just surprised.  The restaurant is located off of a VERY busy and cacophonous road but once you're inside, there's not a hint of the hustle and bustle of the world outside.  As many people have said before, Sala would be a great place for a business dinner or (as in our case) a romantic dinner.  

The staff were friendly but not oppressive, as can often be the case in Manila.  Sometimes too much is just too much ya know?  The drinks came quickly and were strong which is always a good thing when you know you're going to pay a little bit more.  

I was trying to be a good little blogger by writing down the descriptions of all of the food but, sadly, I left my little notebook behind and never went back to pick it up.  Long story short, the following is either from memory or from their online menu (which isn't that accurate because their menu is changing all the time).  Anyhoo...here's the little complimentary appetizer the brought us which I'm sure I'll do NO JUSTICE by describing it as a sweet tomato and goat cheese toast thingamajig: 

Our appetizers were fantastic although, again, I forget the lovely descriptions the restaurant used.  Mine was a creamy scallop soup and Z had a meat and cheese plate (I am sorry Sala - truly sorry.  I never said I was a professionally foodie ok?  Stop judging! Ok .... I'm better now.)

I had truffled white risotto with Jerusalem artichokes, sweet shrimp, and blue swimmer crab topped with a crisp tiger prawn.  It did not suck.   Though a fairly small dish, the risotto made it hearty and I finished and was neither stuffed nor hungry - perfectly prepared for dessert :).

Hubs ordered roast sea bass fillet with sweet shrimp, fennel, tomato, saffron and spinach orzo.  He thought it was great but I found it a bit fishy for my taste.  Then again, I'm one of those people who likes her fish to taste either like cocktail sauce or wasabi so maybe I'm not the best judge. 

And now for my favorite part and I'll go ahead and say I'm a bit biased here because I LOVE rhubarb.  I don't know many people who have even had rhubarb outside of my family but my mom used to make this wonderful rhubarb cake.  I'd ask for it all the time but rhubarb can be hard to find in the states.  I've NEVER seen it on a dessert menu but Sala had a dessert called "All About Rhubard" and all I can say is ....I think it changed my life.  It was SO SO SO good.  I'm not a huge dessert person both for health and just a general preference for salt vs. sweet but this was spectacular.  It was a rhubarb flavored crème brûlée, rhubarb sorbet and a warm pecan rhubarb crumble - that last one was like a mini-cobbler and it was so good, I almost wept. 

And here we are .... on our way to fat and happy

It was a Dark and Stormy Night

I wonder when I'll run out of rain-themed post ideas?  Hopefully not for a while since I think we're in for some pretty significant thunderboomers (there!  another name for a thunderstorm!).

So, if you're keeping up my dear four readers, last night I was considering NOT going to "The Blind Pig" with the hubs to meet some friends because it was POURING outside.  Thankfully, the rain abated, I threw on some clothes and we headed over to the general area where we thought this little Speakeasy was located.  Now, there have already been some super clever blogs about this place that I couldn't (and wouldn't) attempt to duplicate.  If you're interested, you can read more about The Blind Pig here:

Mr. Delicous: The Blind Pig, Makati's Best Poorly Kept Secret

Enroute: Through the Dark and Into Blind Pig Speakeasy Makati

Maraisms: A Night at Blind Pig Speakeasy Salcedo

At least I can say that I am not the only one who has broken one of the cardinal speakeasy rules by letting the world in on this little "secret".  It's been done before and heck, is probably being done right now by someone else since one of our companions is a fellow blogger and our husbands caught us taking the same (flashless) photos of the menu and rules.  Lame?  Maybe.  But at least we're not alone in our lameness.

I don't want to turn this into a review but I loved this place.  The drinks, while expensive, were worth every penny and I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I say husbear's gin and tonics were the best gin and tonics I've EVER tasted.  There is a menu you can order from and I think between the 10 or so of us, we managed to try one of everything but, like other bloggers have mentioned, you can also just tell the bartender what you're feeling and he'll throw together something that will knock your socks off.  For my first drink, I decided to let him do just that.  I wanted strawberries, mint, and vodka -- "not too sweet" I said.  Well, alas, they were out of strawberries but offered me a choice of blueberry or raspberry.  I chose blueberry.  What arrived was nothing short of perfect.  She called it a Blueberry Caipirorka and it like a mojito but less sugary sweet and more....well blueberrily bliss like.  As great as my drink was, the Gin and Tonic Zach had with a kielbasa-sized chunk of ice was like drinking spring in a glass. Yum!

For my second drink, I ordered off the menu.  I thought, given the night we'd had so far, it was more than appropriate to order the Dark and Stormy (dark rum, fresh ginger syrup, and fresh lime juice).  It was great but would have been better with some food probably.  I don't know what it was exactly but I kept wishing the popcorn we'd ordered hadn't already been demolished.  The ginger gave it a nice little kick and left my lips burning just a tad but it was missing some sort of munchie.  Maybe I was just getting the midnight snackies??  Who knows.

The Dark and Stormy

The only drawback to our evening?  With our group, they should have renamed the joint a "Speakloudly".  I love socializing as much as the next person but I think some of the vibe of the place was lost on us.  It seems a more appropriate venue for a couple on their third date or perhaps a party of four.   Our 10ish colleagues and friends gathered for a farewell party were a bit overpowering in the somewhat diminutive establishment.  I wouldn't trade the group OR the conversation;  I'm simply saying I'll be back Pig....and I will make it my mission to get my prohibition vibe on.

Dammit! I totally forgot that I was going to make this posting about The Blind Pig different by telling you why the hell they call it that in the first place.  A quick search will get you that answer but since I think it's super cool and reminds me of dry county rules in today's day and age, I thought I'd just tell ya instead of making you look it up.

So a Speakeasy was also referred to as a "Blind Pig" or "Blind Tiger" back in the prohibition era.  Much like happy hour specials on food that you see in dry counties*, in Speakeasies a customer would pay a fee to see an attraction (like a blind pig or blind tiger) and would then be served a complimentary alcoholic beverage thereby circumventing the law.

[*In some dry counties, happy hours are restricted to food products only.  Meaning, the establishment can discount food stuffs as a way to draw customers in but NOT alcohol.  It's a wacktastic law in bassackwards bible belt towns.  Too many southern euphemisms there?  Too bad.  :)]

Anyway, I think it's an all around super cool idea and in case you're wondering, it did take us a hot minute to find the joint but when we did, it didn't disappoint.

It's dark because I was trying to obey the rules - no flash photography!

The only marking that helps you identify the "pig".  Um... super secret awesomness much?!?!

Amoeba, Youmoeba, Wemoeba

Rotgut.  We've all been there.  You feel fine then all of the sudden, a rumble, a cramp, and a sprint to the nearest er....relief station.  Go ahead and judge me and spout "ews" and "icks" until you're blue in the face, I don't care.  Shit happens and in the case of rotgut (more of a pet name than a diagnosis)....it REALLY happens. 

So how many of you right now are thinking it's me that has been afflicted???  If you're reading this and you have known me more than five minutes, then you almost certainly guessed that my knees are bruised from praying to the porcelain gods but you're wrong!  In this particular instance, I have dodged this parasitic bullet but it has laid waste to my typically burly man hunk of a husband.  Poor dear.  The fact that I'm writing this post should say a lot about how bad he's feeling -- I'm not even real scared about how mad he'll be when he's found out I told the world about his .... affliction. 

                                                                poor poor teddy :(

Now, to be clear, the culprit has yet to be identified but if it were up to Nurse Lindsey, I'd offer a diagnosis of 'too much, too soon' but I don't think you can find that anywhere in the annals of modern medicine (pun so intended, it hurts).  So it's either exhaustion that has weakened his immune system or some sort of bacteria, virus, or gasp! wheeze! shake! moan!....AMOEBAS.  That's right people, amoebas aren't just harmless little single celled life forms characterized by irregular blobby shapes.  NO NO....they're much much more than that. 

Here is where I was going to insert a fun fact or two or perhaps a picture of amoebic dysentery on the cellular level buuuuut, how lame would that have been?!?!  Instead, checky out what I found...

Though technically the cause of unheard of amounts of pain and suffering, who said Amoebiasis doesn't have a sense of humor.  Honestly, I've no idea what that has to do with anything I'm writing about here but I thought it was hilarious and with a sick significant other and a lazy dog, well, I'm pretty booooored.

ALSO....you know what's fun about attempting self diagnosis by way of the world wide interwebs?  You find gems like this:

In case you're unsure what you're seeing, that's Amoebic Dysentery.....the band.  It's worth checking out the article about them on last.fm if for no other reason than to eyeball the tags associated with the pics/article including but certainly not limited to:  "shitgrind, goregrind,  and noisecore"  ...whatever the hell all that means.  If you are feeling like something random to distract you from whatever productive things you might otherwise have engaged in, please, click here ----->Amoebic Dysentery

I guess I'm not ready to blame Manila for this first round of (S)ickness that has invaded our lives but I'll be keeping an eye on you, oh most populated city in southeast asia.  If this turns out to be your fault, I will have my vengeance....even if it comes in the form of canned everything and spending obscene amounts of money ordering costco food stuffs online.  Mark my words.....

Sunday crappy Sunday!!!! (Part one) AKA We're moving overseas for a year...oh wait...no we're not!

Starting the day off right with a bottle of champagne that we've had since we got married.

 The Richmond DeBords drove down and met us for lunch at Eggspectation.  We ran some errands and just generally had a nice day.  We were a little afraid our looming overseas relocation would paint the day with a shade of blue but it was really quite nice to spend the time with everyone.

Zach's mom and sister made us this wonderful collage.  Cassie figured prominently but pretty much everyone in the family was represented.  A very thoughtful gift that is traveling in my suitcase for sure!

I'm tellin' ya...she was on to us.  Look at those eyes.

My little girl and me...a few hours before our company arrived (to steal her!) ;-)

Ok ok...perhaps she isn't quite as smart as I think.  Clearly there are boxes packed and mom and dad are leaving me...but what the hell, there's this cool toy and dammit, I'm playin'!

Aren't we a cute family?!?!  This was about 4 minutes before the waterworks started.

Indulgence of the day....IS MINE!!!!!

Zach was very proud of his wrapping job.  Note the curly ribbons...

Woot woot!  Look at those pretty blue boxes!  In my opinion, it's a better shade of blue than Tiffanys.  It's La Mer beeotches!

Look at that, I am flushed and dewy with joy! LOL  And Zach is wondering why he spent so much money on soap suds and lip balm.  BUT WE LOOOOOVE HIM FOR IT!!!!

That's a $5 kiss right there. Zach says there must be unicorn horn dust in there for it to be so expensive.  At first I was upset at the thought of ground up Unicorn horn on my lips...then he told me not to worry, that their horns grow back.  You know, like a lizard.  ;-)

Bwah ahahaha

Super bwah ahahaha.  Mine mine mine!!!  I have clearly crossed the border into crazy town but that's ok, I would take up residence in looneyville for this kind of indulgence anytime.

 

Around the House in 80 Clicks

Cuckoo Clock from Germany

Just a few shots of some worldly trinkets collected by hubs over the years.  Yes this IS how I spent my Friday night.  So what!  Stop judging. Sheesh!

I can't remember exactly where everything came from and when but a while back I did make hubs do something so we could look back at our keepsakes over the years and know exactly where it came from.  Guess what he did???  That's right, he made a spreadsheet.  Bless his everlovin' heart!!

I'll have to check the spreadsheet against my random guessing when he gets back in town.  Until then, enjoy a trip around our house in 80 clicks :)  (Ok ok... so it's not 80 photos but I clicked AT LEAST 80 times to get them so that ought to count for something!)

Tea Set from Russia

Plate detail

Stem of a Hookah -- I *think* it was from Turkey

Wooden mask from Singapore

Camel from India -- maybe??

Carved wooden owl from India.  If you look really close, you'll see there's another owl carved inside.  Crazy detail!  Must have taken forever.

Painting of a bullfighter, from Spain

Painting of Ganesh, from India

Egyptian scroll painting--Gift from friend, location ???

Ganesh sculpture - his little ear got chipped so I blurred it.  Poor dear.  --From India

Figurines from Malta

Ganesh again....you guessed it, from India

Clogs from the Netherlands.  SO cute.  I used to keep all of the spare change he brought back from different places in there but I had to move it all to a jar.  Someday I'll make a piece of art just out of the money he's brought back