Two months after Arle was born, the wonderful peeps in Lovington, NM wanted to throw us a baby shower.  We were thrilled as we prepared to fly to the Land of Enchantment and show off our new baby girl.  It was our first flight with baby in tow and I was determined not to forget anything.  Diapers?  Check.  Bottles?  Check.  Formula?  Check.  Tan skin?  Oh shoot! 

It had been a super hot and steamy summer and I had not wanted to drag my teeny tiny baby out just so I could be a bronzed beauty.  I hadn’t really thought much about it until a couple days before we were set to fly out.  I suddenly became extremely self-conscious about my pasty white skin and decided that drastic times called for drastic measures. 

I called the Tan Van. 

The what???? You read it right…the Tan Van.  It’s fantastic.  No, it’s Tanfastic (that’s the actual name). 

I had heard about it while working at the ad agency I was with before Arle was born.  The Tan Van Lady would come to the office for a day and people would sign up to go strip down in her van, get airbrushed, and then come back in with a glorious glow.  I was intrigued, but not brave enough to ever put my name on the list. 

So, when I suddenly decided I absolutely HAD to have some color on my body, the Tan Van came to my rescue.  Originally, I decided I would drive to her in order to save $10.  Since conversations between Trav and me are so comical to all of you, see what you think about this one:

Me:  Honey, can you be home by 6:30 tomorrow night?  I have an appointment to be at.

Trav:  Nope.  Tomorrow night is the Royals Dugout Suite Party. 

Me:  I’ve been asking you when that is for weeks and you never could tell me.  Now I make an appt. and need you to be here and suddenly you know when the party is???  (note:  I’m SUPER perturbed at this point)

Trav:  What’s the big deal?  What kind of appointment is it? 

Me:  (with a very loud voice and tears welling up in my eyes)  I have to drive out to Olathe to some lady’s house, get naked in her van, and let her spray me down with a fake tan, OK????!!! 

Trav:  Well, I absolutely forbid you to do that.  Are you crazy? 

Me:  (laughing) Hmmm…it does sound pretty crazy, doesn’t it? 

So, I decided to change my plan.  I forked over the extra $10 to have the Tan Van come straight to my front door.  I planned it when I knew Arle would be napping, locked the door to the house, took the monitor outside with me, and got into the Van.  I stripped down to my undies and got my first airbrush tan.  Yes, it was awkward, but it was worth it.  I looked like I just returned from an island vacation.  The Tan Van Lady was my new BFF. 

We were re-united night before last (yes, the toilet fiasco night).  Trav’s office Christmas party is tomorrow night and I, once again, decided my bod could use a tinge of color.  This time, Trav was home (plunging our toilet) and able to watch Arle, so I drove out south to TVL’s home.  Just when I thought things couldn’t be more strange than stripping down in a van and getting sprayed, I went into her home bathroom and entered the black tent and was sprayed.  I prefer the van. 

Once again, I’m extremely happy with the final result.  For some reason, I always feel skinnier when I’m tan and that, my friends, is worth every second of awkwardness and the $35 that it cost.