I finally got the new blog up and don’t ya know, the oil has stopped leaking, This is TRUE!!

Check out this video I just posted to my new blog: Oil Spill Updates in Destin. For updates you can subscribe either via RSS feeder or email. I’m certainly going to continue to monitor the situation.

The relief wells are supposedly ahead of schedule, so we will see about that. This is at least a small victory, and one we can be happy about!

Last week CitiMortgage announced they would suspend foreclosures (primary residences) to help distressed homeowners in the Gulf of Mexico region. Borrowers with first mortgage loans owned by CitiMortgage and who meet certain other criteria will not be subject to foreclosure sales or foreclosure notifications. According to CitiMortgage, borrowers occupying residences in zip codes within approximately 25 miles of affected coastal areas will be eligible for the program. The suspension is effective from June 17 thru September 17.

This is good news for short sale sellers as they will have more time to get their property sold. Make sure you are priced “aggressively” based on other sales in your area. No amount of marketing will sell an overpriced property.

I applaud CitiMortgage for really “stepping up to the plate” and taking action. Hopefully, others will follow.

Miramar Beach, FL (June 14, 2010) –

BP Storage Tank from Deepwater Horizon

A shiny, metal marine storage tank washed ashore over the weekend on Miramar Beach. It’s believed the tank is from the April Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. The tank is intact, and there does not appear to be any oil leaking from it.

A similar tank washed ashore on the west end of Panama City Beach on Saturday. Officials there estimated the tank to be in excess of five-thousand pounds with a green and white placard which reads BP “Horiz”. That’s short for Horizon. It was removed by containment crews with a tractor and loaded on a trailer and hauled off.

This morning a crew hired by BP will also remove the tank off Miramar Beach. Walton County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Operations officials say it will be transported to New Orleans where the investigation of the oil rig explosion is taking place.

I’ve added a page to my blog for the BP oil spill updates. The media isn’t helping our area. As of today, June 7, 2010, there is NO oil on our beach. Here’s a photo I took about 7pm on the beach in Santa Rosa Beach.

Santa Rosa Beach - June 7, 2010

Am I concerned about the oil? Am I scared, mad, outraged, emotionally drained…you bet. In the beginning, my husband and I were watching updates every night. Praying and hoping the oil would be stopped. About 2 weeks ago, I couldn’t take it anymore….the anger, frustration and emotions got the best of me. The other day I looked at CNN.com and the picture on the home page was of 2 birds, (who had just been rescued), sitting in a basket struggling to breath because of being totally covered in oil. That same night I turned on Anderson Cooper, (AC360), and the same photo was on the screen. I just started to cry.

I have been and continue to follow the updates. I’ll keep posting beach pictures and videos of our beaches. Destin will recover and this too shall pass.

Click HERE to go to the BP Oil Spill page.

The beaches in the Florida Panhandle are open! Thank you Fox 2 News and George Sells for reporting. We need more media here.

There are still no impacts to our beaches and shores.

This is the weather summary from the deep water horizon update, as of 5/18/2010 –

Here is a video of the beach, I took on Monday:

Click here to view the embedded video.