11/24/09 4:42pm

Swamplot will be taking Thursday and Friday off this week for a long and well-deserved giblet bath. But guess what we’ve got coming up next week!

That’s right: It’s time for the second annual Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate! Last year, the first time around, Swamplot received nominations, counted votes, and parceled out awards in 10 categories, including Most Fattening Real Estate Development and Best Teardown. Who makes the nominations for the Swampies? Our readers. Who votes on the winners in each of those categories? Our readers do! And who writes all those clever comments that make the whole thing so much fun? You do!

We’ll likely make a few adjustments in the category mix for this round. This year there probably won’t be enough contenders for the Most Grandiose Development category, what with the downturn and all. And we’ll probably want to add a few categories that focus on the peculiar qualities of particular neighborhoods — those civic clubs can really turn out the votes! But to make the Swampies the best they can be, we need your help!

If you have any suggestions for how the awards should be handled this year, including ideas for new categories or nominating methods, send them in! If you’re a designer who can’t stand to see us use that blue-ribbon awards logo for another year, make us up a new one and send it!

If you don’t have any particular suggestions or designs to contribute, you might want to spend a little time warming up for the nominations with a little review. What were the notable events in Houston real estate this past year? Where were the standouts? The lockouts? We hope you’ll take time over the coming week to reflect on all this city has brought us. The Swampies belong to you!