We're slowing things down a bit for the Christmas holiday at Texas Watchdog while our team is visiting family and in general making various sorts of merry. We'll be back full-force after New Year's Day.

We've got some exciting things planned for the new year, including expanding Texas Watchdog's presence in Austin and rolling out a new look for our website. You'll see more video journalism here and we'll also be offering up an app for your iPhone and Blackberry so you can keep up on everything that we're doing.

Until we come back full-throttle in 2010, here is a list of our most read stories in 2009. Give them a read and take a trip down memory lane. And as always, the best Christmas gift you can give us -- besides your generous donations -- are your tips on what we should be investigating next!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

Now the most-read stories:

1. Texas state senators travel in style; taxpayer money used for luxury hotels, private planes -- November 5

2. El Paso County's top-paid employee: $225K -- March 2

3. 2009 ethics forms for Texas state legislators made public -- September 10 (Also check out the related pieces: Gaping loophole in Texas ethics law: Officials' spouses left off financial disclosures and New video explains Texas Watchdog's interactive map of legislators' ethics forms.)

4. Texas Watchdog's roadmap of TxDOT's stimulus spending -- April 14

5. Tastes Great..No Billing: Beer lobby poised to block public from buying beer from the source -- April 24

6. Houston City Council ethics forms published via an interactive map -- July 29

7. Does city controller candidate M.J. Khan live in the city of Houston? -- October 12

8. Houston Airport System's hidden international web of companies operates in secret -- July 9

9. Ronald Green, leading candidate for Houston city controller, owes $100K in federal income taxes, records show -- October 22

10. Houston mayoral candidate Annise Parker releases tax returns for self, partner to Texas Watchdog -- November 13