I feel pretty, oh so pretty!

I am from a family of gardeners.  It is a family tradition to at least plant sweet peas in the fall and tomatoes in the spring.  Each spring, I love planning and planting my simple "salsa" garden (tomatoes, cilantro, onions).  The truth is that I only have a little space for a garden and the soil is too sandy for much of anything to grow.  This year, Leo built a raised bed garden frame for me.   I also started using earthworms to recycling our coffee grounds and expired veggies into worm castings for the garden.

Note to self:  Be careful what you wish for.  This year, the tomato plants grew like crazy. All the plants had to be topped to be manageable and grow fruit.   Ella, our chocolate lab, loves to garden with me and was by my side when I saw the first ripe tomatoes.  I popped one into my mouth and I secretly shared another with her while the other dogs were wrestling in another part of the yard.  Protected against rambunctious dogs (with chicken wire), the tomato plants had everything they needed to be successful.

Well,  Ella shared our secret with the other dogs.  Led by Ella, every night the dogs would sneak outside, pull down the chicken wire and eat the ripe tomatoes.  Occasionally, they would wake me up in the middle of the night with smelling like tomatoes with tomato seeds on their collars. 

I am looking at this as a learning experience and still love my labs like crazy?!

Speaking of loving our dogs, this week we have a Sweet Dog giveaway that will help your pup feel pretty.  Katie and the good folks at Snap In Bows  are sponsoring a GIVEAWAY!  Katie is a dog groomer and has developed these unique dog bows that groomers and dog owners find easier to use. They are designed to replace the bows that are held in place with rubber bands or clips.

One lucky winner will win a set of 32 bows (16 pairs) of their Snap In Bows in a variety of solid and pastel colors for your dog.  These dog grooming bows  have a unique "snap in" feature. Place a small wisp of fur ( about 1/4" recommended) into elastic and snap shut. No more fussing with rubber band bows, and these "no slip" bows stay put better than clips or rubber bands.


To enter this giveaway, comment on this post:

• Post a comment on this blog post telling us if your favorite Bow in the Snap In Bow store. (1 entry).  It is very important that you include your email address so we can contact the winner. If you do not have a Google account, select anonymous.

For more chances to win: (let us know in separate posts)

• Subscribe to Sweet Dog Organics (signup located on side bar) (1 entry)
  

• Become a follower on Facebook or Tweeter (1 entry)
  

• Become a follower of our blog (left sidebar) and leave a comment stating you are a new follower or already are a follower (1 entry)

• Blog or tweet about our giveaway and leave another comment (include email) with a link to your blog or twitter post (2 entries)

• Order two boxes of any Sweet Dog Organic Dog Treats (3 entries)

This contest has ended. The Sweet Dog Winner is Jessie C. Thanks to all of you who participated in the giveaway and support this blog. I really appreciate it! Check back for more great product reviews and giveaways.

FULL DISCLOSURE NOTICE: In preparing this column, I did not receive any products or compensation by Snap In Bows. Thanks,