Vanessa Sutton - June Goal - Try out my first trail race!!

Hello friends!  First off, let me please apologize from my 2-month absence from "Projects Connect".  My April goal involved keeping a daily food diary.  Not so much to count calories, but more to help keep myself accountable with regards to what I was actually putting into my body.  It worked amazingly well!!  I used a small notebook and simply wrote down everything I ate.  It helped me "lighten the load" with regards to my May goal - which was to run the Ogden Marathon.

I had run the Ogden Marathon once previously 7 years ago.  It was my first marathon and I absolutely loved it.  Since then I had run 5 more, but there is a definite soft spot in my heart for Ogden.  The scenery of the course, the late spring time of year, the over 1500 feet of elevation loss....  Ladies, if you have ever considered running a marathon, this would be one to seriously consider!  This year, I felt as if all of the stars aligned for a pretty much perfect race.  I felt relatively strong, and finished in 3:55, which was 6 minutes short of my goal time. The only unfortunate part was that my husband and two of my kids were not able to make it.  Also, my good friend, who watched my 3 girls and brought them to see me finish, missed me crossing the finish line.  When all was said and done, there was not a single picture taken from this event!!  Due to the lack of photographic evidence, I have hesitated posting.  The pictures are always such a highlight.  Soooooo,

This brings me to my June goal, which was to participate in the Scout Mountain Ultra Trail Run.  It is a race held in the mountains right outside my home town of Pocatello, Idaho.  It is an event that seems to bring out an entirely different breed of runner.  The race is in it's fifth year, but I've held off participating out of sheer intimidation.  For example - this is the elevation of the 37K (21 miles) course.  It is the shortest distance offered.









One late evening in January, I finally got up the courage and registered for the 37k.  I figured my training for the Ogden Marathon three weeks prior to this race would give me a pretty good base level of fitness.  Once the Ogden Marathon passed and my body recovered somewhat, I hit the trails of Pocatello as frequently as possible.

Two of my running friends, Bret and Kiersten also registered.  We drove to the pre-race meeting the night before.  I was thankful for their support, because seriously, there were some LEAN, hungry-looking runners present and it was hard not to feel intimidated.  The average percentage of body fat among all in attendance couldn't have been more than 9% - honest.  Most were doing the 100k or 62 miles.  There was also a 60k (37miles) option.  I'm not sure of the use of metric distances for this race.  It was not held in Europe.

The morning of the race, I again rode to the starting line with my two friends. We snapped this picture:

not sure why it's showing up so small....


They started the 37k group last at 11:00am.  This is a lot later than I usually run, and it was a pretty warm day.  The first few miles were pretty hot and dusty.  Gradually though, the pack thinned out.  There were only 2 aid stations on the course, so we were required to bring our own hydration AND our own containers to hold the drinks.  The course was deemed a "cupless" course.  Again sooooo different from the aid stations found every mile along a marathon course with literally hundreds of paper cups being used.   The first aid station came after six miles of pretty constant uphill.  The volunteers were amazing.  They would pull out all of my bottles and refill them in the blink of an eye.  Also, some of the food offered was COMPLETELY different from what you find in most marathons.  They had salted watermelon, flat Coke, candy bars, and even hamburgers cooking on a grill.  I stuck with what has worked in the past and just ate a gel.  The next 5 miles continued to climb to the summit of one of the taller mountains in our area - Scout Mountain.  The views were unbelievable!!  The course wound down through a beautiful forest with lots of shade and unbeatable scenery.  By this time, I was running mostly by myself and I found the solitude relaxing. 

The next aid station came at mile 15.  Again all of my water bottles were refilled, and I drank some ice-cold Coke.  It was pretty much the most delicious drink I have ever had in my life.  The last 6 miles involved a few more uphill climbs and a nice descent back to the starting line.  As I approached the finish line, I noticed our family's mini-van parked along the road.  They came!!!!  I started to cry.  My husband and kids cheered as I crossed the finish.  My final time was 4:46.  I finished 22 of 119 and felt pretty good about it.

Overall it was a new and rejuvinating experience.  It was different than any other race I've ever done.  My running friends and I always joke about "trail snobs" - runners who say how little patience they have for lame road running now that they have discovered the trails.  I'm not quite sure I fall into that category quite yet, but it's easy to see how it could happen.   Until next month!!! Up next: The Burley Spudman Triathlon......

April -

 My Daisy, Brownie, and Junior girl scouts!

 My project this month was to get caught up sewing on all of the patches my 3 daughters had earned since last fall from their girl scout troop.  At first thought, this may seem like a slightly wimpy project, especially for those of you who have boys in cub or boy scouts, where patches are few and far between.  Things are different in the troop that my girls attend....

My 3 daughters all participate in a troop led my a very energetic mother-daughter team.  They plan elaborate activities and seem to have an endless supply of energy, time, and money.  The girls earn a patch for nearly every activity they do.  Additionally, they are awarded patches for activities they participate in outside of girl scouts such as soccer and piano.

I was getting quite behind.  There were zip-lock baggies full of patches all over my sewing table!  At first, I thought I could just iron each patch on, but soon found that they just didn't stay.  I also tried to sew each patch on by hand, but that took forever and they still fell off.  I ended up using my sewing machine with the walking foot.  I used white thread for both the top and bottom, regardless of the color of the patch.  Once the sewing began, it went relatively quickly and my girls were delighted.

These are the patches they have earned since last fall!!! 

This was a really good task to finally get done!  Or at least I'm done until next month........

February Project - Moving my 3-year-old baby out of our bedroom!!

Please don't judge... things are just different with your baby. 

This is Luke - kid #5 in our family. He has been an absolute joy.  He also shared a bedroom with his mom and dad until he was 3 and a half.

While our 1980's house has plenty of square footage, it unfortunately does not have a lot of bedrooms.  When Luke was born, we had him sleep in the master bedroom for practical reasons.  As he grew, we just seemed to keep him there.  He progressed from a cradle, to a crib, to a toddler bed - all while remaining in our room.  His 3rd birthday came and went, and he still remained in our room.  Finally, in January, my husband noticed he was starting to store toys and pennies under his pillow, and we took the hint - he was ready for his own space.

Even though there is an 8-year gap, we figured that the best fit for now would be to have our oldest and youngest share a room, and along with that, a closet.  While the closet was big enough, it was built in the 80's  - and lacking built-in closet organizers.

 I forgot to take a before picture of the closet - but this one is in the other bedroom and pretty much identical- not too bad, but not very practical either.

We decided to build some of our own closet organizers from some extra lumber we found in our basement from the previous owners.  We wanted two rows of hanging bars, but also cubbies down the center that could hold bins we already had from Ikea.  The best part of this project was that it was started and finished on a single Saturday!!  Believe me, we have had plenty of projects drag out to the point that the shop vac and the air compressor became part of our home decor, but this one was different.

And now the after...

I don't know that the boys were as excited as I was, but so far the closet has remained neat and organized, and Luke has remained out of our bedroom. 

It has been so fun to read all of your posts!!  See you all next month!!!

Vanessa Sutton, January, Make a baby quilt

Hi! My name is Vanessa Sutton, and I'm lucky enough to be Nora's younger sister.  She's pretty much taught me everything I know, and I'm excited to be a part of this project!  I live in Pocatello, Idaho with my husband Trent, and our five children: Sterling(11), Sarah(9), Meg(7), Macie(5), and Luke(3).  My husband is a very deeply-rooted Idaho boy, and I foresee us being in Pocatello forever. 

In my former life I was a speech-language pathologist, but now I am loving being home with my kids.  I also love to run, bike, and swim - as much as I can possibly get away with - but not enough to ruin my marriage.

Gutting it out at a Marathon last fall.  

My husband Trent always jokes that Nora can talk pretty much anyone into doing pretty much anything - and have them feel great about it.  She really does have a special ability to connect with and relate to people, and help them to exceed what they are capable of.  I attribute all of my junior high social success to her teaching me a round-off backhandspring,

For my project in January, I made a baby quilt for my daughter Macie's kindergarten teacher.  She has been a wonderful and patient teacher for my somewhat less-than-academically-motivated daughter.  Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of her lovely teacher, or her new baby, but I do have a picture of the quilt:

This quilt is called a "Vintage Baby Quilt" and is one my very favorite to make.  As far as quilts go, it is almost embarrassing how easy it is.  When my kids were younger, I spent an insane amount of time quilting.  That has scaled back considerably due to other life events, but it is always fun to make a baby quilt.

For this project, I used a 45-inch (1 1/4 yard) piece of white fabric.  On it, I drew a grid of three inch squares using my quilting ruler and a mechanical pencil.  After that I took a coordinating piece of print fabric, and laid it print-side down on the floor.  I sprayed a layer of basting glue spray, and then laid down a 1 1/4 yard piece of cotton batting.  This was followed by more spray glue, and then the white fabric went on top - grid side up.

Anyone still awake?  Sorry for all of the quilting terminology.  I got so into the project, that I neglected to take pictures.  When the three layers were secure, I placed 2 1/2-inch fabric squares from various scraps I had (296 to be exact) on the top layer in the grid.  Some shuffling and moving around were needed to balance out the different colors and prints.  This quilt seems to look best with a LOT of variety in both colors and prints.

Once arranged, I sewed the fabric squares directly to the top layer of the quilt using a 1/4 inch seam.  First I sewed the rows horizontally, and then vertically.  Once the squares were sewn on, I sewed on a white binding around the edges and then washed and dried it.  That makes all the difference with this quilt.  It shrinks the cotton batting and gives it a cool, puckered look.

When the quilt was finished, I handed it off to a good friend who was visiting the kindergarten teacher for delivery.  As it is her first baby, I got the feeling she was pretty nervous about germs and small visitors.

Vanessa Sutton's Goals & Projects for 2014

January-  Make a baby quilt for my daughter Meg's school teacher.