Lane Bryant has introduced a new bra called Bra 6, as in 6 ways to wear it: halter, strapless, cris-crossed, etc. I wasn’t too impressed with that having seen convertible bras before, but I was intrigued by the way the band closes. Instead of one set of hooks and eyes in the center back, there are TWO sets, one on either side, below the shoulder blades. The straps also have multiple attachment points so you can move them in towards the neck or further out towards your shoulders. These features seemed to give the bra a great deal of customization ability, so I picked up a couple and decided to try them on.

It took me 10 minutes to get into the bra.

Unless you’re a contortionist, you can not put your arms through the straps, sling the uneven back section around, and twist your arms up and around to one side to fasten the hooks. I had to unhook one strap, twist the bra around sideways, hook it, wriggle it back around which was difficult with the molded cups, fish around for the loose strap, and then hook it into place. Then I had to rest.

But, once the bra was in place, I was impressed with the results. The support was great. The cups fit perfectly. My boobs weren’t squished into unnatural shapes. My silhouette looked good. I didn’t have underwires poking my arms. And the molded cups were smooth and unnoticeable under my shirt. (Of course, I might have been easily pleased just because I’ve been wearing wireless soft cup nursing bras for the last 15 months.)

Unfortunately, removing the bra was almost as difficult as getting into it. I had to slip out of the straps and wiggle the bra around until I could reach the hooks. It took at least 5 minutes.

So, once Bra 6 was on, I liked the results, but unless I get a full-time personal assistant who can get me in and out of this bra every time, I’ll have to pass.

Turquoise Tunnel Silhouette

Originally uploaded by monkeyjunkie.

This was a tunnel under the prairie dog habitat in the Children’s Zoo. You could crawl down it and stand up at the end with your head inside a clear plexiglass dome and see the prairie dogs. Olivia was too short to look out of the dome, so I crawled down there after her to lift her up so she could see.

(This photo is unmodified. This is how the colors came out of my camera.)

Peacock

Originally uploaded by monkeyjunkie.

The place where Julia and Jay got married had a lot of peacocks strutting around. We were told it is mating season, so we were treated to several displays like this.