I hope you all are doing well.  Things have been going well here for us but we still would appreciate your prayers as nothing has been completely resolved.  Anyway moving on to better things…As you all know Spring Training is in full swing and I am the happiest camper in the world!  Today I took the day off and Ale and I went to watch the Tigers host the Braves.  It was not a good game for the Tigers.  Please enjoy the pictures on facebook.  If you do not have a facebook they will be uploaded later on to the “pictures” section.  It was good to see the D-Train pitching well again and I was impressed by Fu te Ni.

Anyway we are about to go get something to eat with Audy and Jafet.  Luis was supposed to come but he fell asleep.

On a very important side-note please welcome Linda and Hebprin as new contributors to Vida Mendoza.  I can’t wait to see what they have to contribute.  Take care everyone.  Much love!

I hope you all have enjoyed the back and forth war between the new Vida Mendoza contributors.  I hadn’t formally welcomed the new contributors to the site so I will go ahead and acknowledge some of them here.  I should point out that I am not well acquainted with every Vida Mendoza contributor but before either James or myself allow contributors on the site we make sure that they are put through a rigorous evaluation process that will ensure both the family friendly content, and good-natured humor you have come to enjoy at Vida Mendoza.  First I will would like to introduce Ricardo Justicia our first contributor from the great city of Houston, Texas.  Richard is a family man and most importantly a graduate of the University of Texas.  He does not pull any punches as you can see from the articles he has recently posted going hard after “the hopeless romantic” with some very good inside information.  We also added Pedro Reyes.  I don’t know much about Pedro but he was recommended by a good friend.  Having contributors is nice since it takes some of the pressure of having to update.  Isaac, Alejandra, and Jafet have all joined and helped with their contributions.

February was an absolute nightmare or an absolute blessing, depending on how we want to look at it.  Ale and I prefer to look at it as a real blessing.  After we were turned down for the previous house (if you don’t know the story read clicking here) we went with a different lender who did not ask us to “fix” our income numbers.  Everything seemed to be going well and we felt like we were well on our way to owning our first home.  About 4 or 5 days ago I received a call from our new loan officer and he told me that an investigation had been conducted into a home and that the home was listed as a “sinkhole property” which would cause major problems in underwriting since no one whose head is on straight would approve a loan for the purchase of a sinkhole property.  To see what a sinkhole is click here and here.  Anyway the loan fell through.

Ale and I are happily back on square one and excited to see what God has for us in the future.  We have gone to look at some other houses since then but nothing that has really caught our eye.  We are still excited about the opportunity to purchase a home but at the same time we are beginning to think that the Lord is telling us to wait.  People have been telling us to take advantage of the government credits and opportunities for first time home buyers but with Obama things have been so bad that they will have no choice but to continue to extend these “opportunities.”

Things have also been hard on the business front.  Perhaps one day I can disclose more but for now I just ask for your prayers.

Everything else is great.  We are extremely excited about the upcoming Spring Training season.  As you all know Audy was added to the 40-man roster and he is staying with us until Spring Training ends.  He has been playing well and we ask that you all keep him and all the guys on the roster in your prayers.  They go through a lot and face some serious difficulties during the course of the season and they really appreciate knowing that there are people out there praying for them.

Anyway everyone take care and have a great rest of the week.

Just as another Valentine’s Day has come and gone, another completely and utterly false article has been written.  In a ludicrous attempt to cover up their own faults and lack of creativity, authors of such articles begin to write and accuse certain people of unforgiveable acts such as borrowing money on Valentine’s Day.  The truth is that the article “The Hopeless Romantic” has more holes and lies than Tiger Woods has women. After countless false articles written many have grown tired and begun to wonder what kind of sources does the author of these articles have.  Where exactly is he getting such false information? But the question that towers above all other is simple….HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO WRONG?

This article is not to criticize but to reveal truth. It is not to ignore darkness but to shed light on lies.  One wonders how can the author of the previous article be so wrong? Where do all these false accusations come from? Better yet, why on Earth would he write such an article? The TRUE story lies not in the previous article but in sentences to come.  Many questions have risen as to what the “True Romantic” (aka Palmview Pachucos) did for Valentine”s Day. And here is the incredibly true story.

After having a one on one interview with this particular romantic, he made it very clear that he thought  that this day of love was a complete waste of time and money. Luckily for this “True Romantic” it as come to our attention that he did not spend a single cent of his money.  On the night of February 12, 2010, this True Romantic was caught sneaking in to the rooms of his children and quietly taking the little bit of money that they had in their piggy banks. One must ask how much worse can this person get? Unfortunately, it does indeed get worse.  Other very credible sources (which shall forever remain anonymous) have said that he went as far as to steal money from his wife’s purse.  Sadly for this particular wife, she has yet to find out that her husband bought her gifts with her very own money.  The false accusation in the previous article of the “Hopeless Romantic” borrowing money is entirely overshadowed by this true act of deception.  One can only wonder how far will this person go.  He writes false articles and fills readers’ heads with lies and steals from his very own children and wife….whats next palmview pachuco?

Well, another Valentine’s Day has come and gone.  And all the romantics in the world have hopefully had their fill.  Here at VidaMendoza we have been witness to all types of romantics.  The true romantic (aka the Palmview Pachuco), the homeless romantic (aka Joshi), the shy romantic (aka Chepe), and many others.  This year we have been treated to the revelation of  the self-described “hopeless” romantic.  And I use the word revelation in the sense that we had not previously had the privilege of seeing the hopeless one in action.  But others had.

It may come as a surprise, but according to sources, the hopeless romantic did indeed live up to expectations this year.   For the most part anyway.  A nice dinner, roses, chocolates… ah, the joy of romance.

There has been one glaring question though.  In the day and time in which live, the following question must be asked.  Was Hopeless bailed-out? An awful rumor has it that his “daddy” had to provide the funds for this year’s extravaganza!  As shocking as this may seem, the damage to the legacy of the “hopeless” romantic would be immeasurable.  Was there a back room deal worked out?  Did he personally request a bail-out?  Oh, the humanity! And shame.  Let us only hope that this rumor is not proven to be true…

I have to tell you that the last couple of days have been a real rollercoaster ride for Ale and I.  As some of you may have read on facebook, Ale and I were waiting for approval for our loan from the bank.  We were really excited and, at the same time, nervous as we awaited word from the bank.  The days leading up to Monday were especially interesting since it became apparent that my income difference from 2008 to 2009 would present a problem.  2009 was a good year for my business but it was not as good as 2008 and the loan officer let me know that this would be an issue. 

Monday (2/15/10) we heard back from the loan officer.  We were told that the only way to get the loan would be to “spice up” my financial statements and submit them to the bank.  I canceled our appointment for that afternoon and called another lender.

We were told that there is no way that any other entity would approve our loan.  Thankfully that decision does not rest with any one person, it rests with God. 

The decision could cost us the house, but my wife and I made a promise to the Lord that we would follow His lead in making this decision.  And if there is one thing I know for sure is that God would not lead us to be dishonest in any way shape or form.

We are working with another lender and hope that we can get more of them into the mix.  We just ask that you all keep us in your prayers.  We are sure that God will lead us to the right place, it may be this house or it may be another house.  We just want to do what is right and continue to follow His lead.

I am lucky to be blessed with a wonderful family and with wonderful friends.  I really want to extend my thanks to two people I spoke with yesterday.  They offered great advice and great encouragement.  I will not name them as I know they would much rather remain anonymous. 

Please help us pray as we continue to ask God to work His will.  We have about 30 days to come up with the financing for the house and we are trusting God to provide.  I will update as things continue to happen.  Hopefully I can update with some good news.

My beautiful wife and I are eating at Sunny’s Real BBQ Pit. Some of the best pulled beef brisket in the world.

I was just checking this thing out that Microsoft had on the Windows Live Essentials package.  It allows you to update from your PC without having to log into the website.  It’s kind of cool.  Anyway this post is only a test.

Good boy Isaac, good boy.

We were all invited to eat at Charisse’s house this evening. We watched the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremonies and had some delicious food. Charisse’s mom made some arroz reyeno, salad, amarillos, sancocho, and coffee. It was a meal to remember.

As we ate we made sure that Isaac kept his hands to himself…lol

In a follow-up to yesterday’s story regarding a probable  upcoming crash, details are beginning to emerge as to the magnitude of this potential disaster.  IKE stock has plummeted as a result of yesterday’s news.  Although no names have been revealed up to this point, the market has turned it’s attention to IKE in response to the rumors of an unnamed failure to plan.   IKE CEO Isaac Mendoza was asked to comment about the supposed failure to plan and responded thusly, “My current plan is to plan a plan”.   When pressed further as to his exact meaning, Mendoza stated “eh, well, I’ll plan something… soon hopefully”.

There have been rumors out of Gulf Village Loop that perhaps a bailout might be in the works.  IKE has been known to have received bailouts in the past on Valentine’s Day.   Josue Mendoza, CEO of JMI, was not quite in agreement with any bailout.   He was just thankful that he had already taken care of Valentine’s Day.    In the meantime, CC Enterprises has taken a wait and see approach.  One thing is clear, things are unsettling and a storm’s a brewing.

A recently written article about a certain individual (who will continue to remain unnamed) and his lack of planning for the day of love is somewhat insulting to this particular hopeless romantic.  Although the article “Headed For A Crash” does not give us names, we do know whom the article is speaking about.  Better yet, we know that the author is under the alias “Pedro Reyes” in order to protect himself from the terrible planner that he really is.

Recently, “Pedro Reyes” was interviewed and when asked what he planned to do for his lovely wife on Valentine’s Day his response was simple and to be quite honest somewhat rude and loveless.  His response was “When you are married there is no need to do anything. My plan already worked seeing that I got her to marry me and have been married for a number of years.  Therefore i do NOT need to plan anything for Valentine’s Day. For me it is just another day.”  Upon hearing this response from “Pedro Reyes” it came to mind that while he is accusing others of being a little late to plan, he is simply choosing not to plan which is much worse.

This statement brings up many questions…What would his wife think if she heard this? Is being a little late to plan worse than not planning at all?  One can only hope that Pedro Reyes does indeed plan to atleast buy one rose for his lovely wife…because Pedro, it may be just another day for you, but it may mean a little more to her.  Please do us all a favor Pedro and don’t be yourself on February 14, 2010.  Do something nice.