Ok, first of all, I think everyone is very self conscious on their first triathlon! So more power to anyone willing to put themselves out there. You go girl!

First, Tina - you're talking about sewing a tri suit right? From a friend I have learned that you might want to look into titanium needles (no joke!) for the sewing machine. Apparently they work MUCH better on lycra-like materials.

Roxy - you should definitely watch transition videos to get an idea of how to run them. For instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKWHELY0qxw
There are TONS of them. Also, my advice is to try to get there at the same time as when the transition opens. Otherwise you might be stuck w/ less room on the rack/ground than you want.

Also, have you considered just not worrying about food on an 1.5 hr race? Most people agree that you'll likely have enough short-term fuel on board to just skip the Gu. But might experiment. That would help you streamline.