Getting Ready For My Birthday...

And I found my mobile - good news! Argentina plays Germany today at 4pm - I will be watching it with my Argentine and German friends... so we will see how that goes! Then tomorrow Jack and I will spend the day on the Thames and at the market... then to the Hawley Arms to meet friends for the England v. Portugal match and then Jack and I are back to the river for a romantic dinner at the Chop House - yum...

Should be good... now - VAMOS ARGENTINA!

Jillian's Birthday BBQ

Mara Serving the Birthday Girl her Birthday Cake

The Cake
(PS - My Cake-writing Skills Have
Seriously Deteriorated Since Working at Baskin Robbins!)

The Birthday Couple

The Crew Part I

The Crew Part II

Belga - Brussels

Hidden Female Statue
Grand Place I
Grand Place II

Manechin Pis - with Beer Being Offered to the Crowds - HA!

Belga - Antwerpen

In Anwerp and Loving It!

My Hottie Boyfriend Waiting for Me (Like Always)

Jack with No Sunglasses and Lots of Flags

The Train Station - I Remember How Gorgeous This Is from 4 Years Ago!

Near the River - Great, Huh?

Belga - Bruge

View from the top of the Belfry
Central Square
Canals!
Jack When We Rented Bikes - So Fun!
Belgique

DC Tourist Pics

My Former Flat!
Dupont Circle - Best Place in DC to Take a Cat-Nap
Union Station - My Everyday Metro Stop
The Washington Monument - Re-opened!
The U.S. Capitol (Artistic)

You would never think that I actually lived there - I am such a tourist - ha!

DC BBQs and Good Times

DC Nationals v. Colorado Rockies Game
Gretchen, Valentina and Ali post-Gretchen's BBQ
Dario and I at the Nationals Game
Steve, Gretchen, Kris and I outside the Senate
Brian and Kris (Boxer Staffers Unite!)
Dave and Duron - Dynamic Duo
Kris, Gretchen and I Hammin' It Up

Jonathon, Matt and I at Gretchen's BBQ

Pics from DC

Marc and I (former intern!)
Our Group - Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk
Danielle, Almina, Mara and Valentina
Kris and Mara Walking for a Cure
Mara and Ilana (former suite-mate from freshman year!)

The District

In DC... catching up with friends on the phone, the news, and booking hotels for Belgium this weekend. These 2 weeks have gone pretty fast - got most of my interviews sorted which is great, and have really just been hanging out this weekend. Went out with Amanda on Thursday, had a girls HH on Friday, had an early birthday celebration with Kris on Saturday followed by a Corzine campaign staffer reunion (complete with Bon Jovi on the speakers and toasts to Jersey), and made fish tacos last night. Kris and I also hit up the Nordstrom sale and Clinique bonus time (aww yeah). Headed to the Nationals game tonight with Dario and then Gretch is having a small grill tomorrow which should be great. Wednesday night is a 1-year anniversary celebration with David and Shayna from E-Day and then I'm off on Friday... and then back to London - and then Belgium for the weekend with Jack (who I'm totally missing). Oh - and tomorrow Steve Duron gets in town - so that will be awesome to see him. And I'm off to a John Kerry event in the am... should be good!

A Look at Latest Primaries in 8 States

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 7, 2006; 6:00 AM

-- Key races in the latest primaries:

___

CALIFORNIA:

SPECIAL ELECTION: Former Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray beat Democrat Francine Busby, a school board member, in the race to serve seven months left in the term of former GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who was jailed for taking millions of dollars in bribes.

GOVERNOR: State Treasurer Phil Angelides beat Controller Steve Westly in the Democratic primary for the right to challenge Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November.

HOUSE: Seven-term Rep. Richard Pombo, who wants to rewrite the Endangered Species Act, was leading against a challenge in the GOP primary from former Rep. Pete McCloskey, who helped write the landmark wildlife-protection law.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Former Gov. Jerry Brown won the race for the Democratic nomination.

PRESCHOOL: A $2.4 billion proposal to offer universal preschool by taxing the wealthy was rejected. The initiative was best known for its most avid supporter, Hollywood director Rob Reiner.

___

IOWA:

GOVERNOR: Secretary of State Chet Culver won a tight race for the Democratic nomination. He will face Republican Rep. Jim Nussle in November. Gov. Tom Vilsack did not seek a third term, saying only that he wanted to do something different. But Vilsack is the focus of speculation that he may run for president in 2008.

HOUSE: Nussle's decision to run for governor left his House seat open. Republican entrepreneur Mike Whalen will face attorney Bruce Braley, a Democrat, in the fall.

___

MONTANA:

SENATE: State Senate President Jon Tester defeated the state auditor for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose poll numbers have sagged because of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Burns prevailed easily over several GOP challengers.

___

ALABAMA:

GOVERNOR: Republican Gov. Bob Riley defeated former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was ousted after he defied a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley beat former Gov. Don Siegelman, who is on trial in federal court on bribery charges.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: George C. Wallace Jr., son of the former Alabama governor, was headed to a runoff to decide the GOP primary for lieutenant governor.

CHIEF JUSTICE: Tom Parker, an associate justice who said state courts can ignore U.S. Supreme Court precedents, lost his bid for chief justice against the man who was appointed to fill Moore's post. Three other Supreme Court candidates who held similar views on the precedent issue lost their challenges to GOP incumbents.

GAY MARRIAGE: Voters overwhelmingly approved a ban on gay marriage.

___

NEW JERSEY:

SENATE: Tom Kean Jr., son of a popular former New Jersey governor, prevailed against a more conservative political newcomer in the Republican primary. On the Democratic side, Sen. Robert Menendez easily beat a little-known challenger. Menendez, a former congressman, was appointed in January to serve out Sen. Jon Corzine's term after Corzine was elected governor.

HOUSE: In the race to fill Menendez's House seat, former state House Speaker Albio Sires won the Democratic primary against Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas. Sires also won the primary for a special election to serve the final two months of Menendez's term.

___

SOUTH DAKOTA:

GOVERNOR: Democrat Jack Billion won the nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Mike Rounds in the fall. Rounds is heavily favored to win another term.

___

MISSISSIPPI:

CONGRESS: State lawmaker Chuck Espy lost his bid to unseat six-term Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson. Espy's uncle, Mike Espy, was elected to the seat in 1986, becoming Mississippi's first black congressman since Reconstruction. Mike Espy left the House in 1993 to become President Clinton's secretary of agriculture.

___

NEW MEXICO:

SENATE: Republican Allen McCulloch was nominated to challenge Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman in the fall.

Go See This Film

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

It is fantastic - go see it and drag everyone you know....

http://www.climatecrisis.net/aboutthefilm

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You have the power to make a difference. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big changes in helping to stop global warming.

	Reduce your impact AT HOME
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	Help bring about change LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY
	Download these 10 SIMPLE TIPS to take with you!

After reducing your emissions you can do even more by going "carbon neutral." By supporting clean renewable energy, you can effectively neutralize your personal CO2 emissions. Your small investment will ensure that for every ton of carbon dioxide you are emitting, a ton of carbon dioxide will not be released into the atmosphere. Go NEUTRAL!

Learn about other ways that movies are inspiring people to make a difference at www.Participate.net.

Miss Kath's Graduation

Grandma, Kath and Papa
Miss Tath and Miss Sally

Receiving her Diploma

The Graduate

Kath and Mom

CONGRATS GIRL! I love you and I can't wait for my friends to spoil you and show you around - and for me to visit you at UCSD!

xoxo
Mara

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House.

BY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen/1

Read This

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/

Today's post on Clinton's latest speech and for a down-low on the special CD-50 election... check it out. Tomorrow is a survey of the 2008 candidates thus far....

Radio Romance

Yes - I just titled this post based on Tiffany lyrics because I am THAT cool. Anyway... just went to the Hill for lunch with the girls (Kris, Gretch, Laurel, April, Katie, Amanda and Cari) which was fun - and enjoyed yummy Thai food. After activating my new phone number at Verizon (email me for it) - ended up walking home barefoot in the heat because my feet are not yet broken into sandals for the summer... ah well. Probably not the best idea, but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

Just checking out The Stills who are we going to see this weekend, who are joined by Rogue Wave. You can listen to them at: http://www.thestills.net/ and http://www.roguewavemusic.com/roguewave_home.html - of which I am especially taken to.

And was listening to Senator Boxer on http://www.bigeddieradio.com/listen/index.asp... great show. Apparently there is a Gay Marriage proposal coming up in the Senate... yuck. AND the GOP is also going to be proposing anti-flag burning legislation... I am patriotic (Jack is always surprised by how much so), but of all the things on their plate right now this seems like a misplaced priority. .. not to mention the imposement on free speech. Talk about being nervous and trying to secure your disaffected base in a 2nd-term mid-term election year (historically when incumbant parties, especially those that also have a congressional majority lose the most seats)!

Meanwhile I am experiencing a bit of culture shock... it sounds odd to hear American accents all around me, walked by where the Kerry HQs were when I went in to volunteer in Spring of 2003 - that's right - 3 years ago.... weird! For the most part DC geography has come back to me, but I am going to try and not test myself too much just yet. Went to pay for lunch and realized I didn't have any dollars... had to remember how to enter my credit card, etc, etc. It's going to be funny when I drive Kristin's car and have to remember to drive on the opposite side of last weekend! But it is awesome to see the DC crew - especially Krstin and Gretchen - and am really looking to seeing lots more peeps tomorrow night! Bring on the BBQ!

Oh and PS - it is freakin' hot here! It was 90F or 32C... crazy!

Safe and Sound

In DC and have already feasted on Baja Fresh last night with Kris... oh how I love Mexican food - it's ridiculous. Crashed early last night after a long day of travelling and am now just working on setting up interviews and the like. I will be meeting the DC-Cali bicameral girls for lunch today which should be fun... looking forward to seing some of my favorite girls in DC!

Then our BBQ is on Friday night and then we are running in the Susan G. Komen Walk for a Cure on Saturday with Danielle and Almina - and am looking forward to that. Then it's off to a show that night at the 9:30 club with Kris and Grant and Gretchen and then to see Al Gore's new movie about global warming: An Inconvient Truth. There is a big push to see it Opening Weekend so we are following suit. Join us here: http://www.climatecrisis.net/

Alright - off to shower and make some more coffee for my jet-lagged body!

Some Words from the BreakFree Folks

Hell yeah,

Weather is getting better, summer is here, and you've got a ton of reasons to go to breakfreeclothing.com . Here are the most important ones (since everyone seems to love lists).

1. If 5 people you refer get clothes, we'll give you a free tee shirt, hat, hoodie, whatever. All they have to do is write your full name in the comments section upon checking out. This runs June 1 through Labor Day. Enjoy

2. You want to see our dope new LIMITED EDITION TEE, made exclusively for the VH1 Rock Honors Awards. We only have 40 to sell, since the rest we're given away to KISS, Queen, Jamie Pressley, etc. Go to www.breakfreeclothing.com and get them now

3. We've finally completed the Expression's page of the website. It's interactive, has dope music and art, and pictures of people rocking Breakfree gear. If you or anyone you know owns something email us a pic of you in it and you'll become famous...well maybe not, but we sure will try to make it happen.

4. You want to witness Scott and Richie beam with pride as you watch our first television interview, hosted by the CBS affiliate in Palm Springs. It was taken the day before Coachella.

5. If you are interested in a one of a kind, custom hoodie or tshirt, then email us. It's just that simple.

6. It's graduation time, which means we have to somehow find thoughtful gifts that don't cost that much...nothing better than a Breakfree tee.

Thats everything for now. Things are definitely moving, so please continue to pass the word along regarding Breakfree. In the next couple weeks the video from our premier fashion show will be up, in addition to other media outlets that have been covering us.

Much love, and repost this as often as you'd like


Richie and Scott

Breakfree Clothing