Hi sweetie!! OMG Maddie sounds absolutely adorable~ Chihuahuas are such lovely dogs! They sound sooooo tiny and adorable.

LOL @ 'My head hurts after that sentence'. I get what you mean, my dear! As I've said many times, I respect this deep respect you hold for yor ancestors and culture.

It's really cool that you can do beading and quilling! Have you been learning how to do it since you were young? The tasks you do like tanning hides sure sound difficult, but of course, nothing beats the satisfaction of completing a tough task!

Oh, there's really nothing the internet cannot do! I'm sure I can find pretty stuff online if I really want to. It's pretty cool, really, because I've had a Caucasian friend from another fandom who got married recently in a Japanese kimono she got online!

Wow I never knew those pretty silver bits on the jingle dresses could make pretty sounds! That makes it even nicer, really! Thank you for the little explanation on the colors...it really answered my questions! Do you have any lucky or unlucky colors in your culture?

I think I can understand what you mean about living two lives when people live on reservations; it is pretty hard after all, to have to manage both sides, I guess. But still, it's such a beautiful thing to be able to get the best of both worlds, don't you think?

As for Chinese dresses, red is considered a very auspicious color because it apparently chases demons away and corresponds with fire. It also symbolizes good fortune and happiness! So red is forbidden at Chinese funerals, and black is forbidden during Chinese New Year.

Dearest Siki,

I am sorry for taking so long with the replies!! You see, I am busy trying to finish up Happily Ever After's 28th chapter and I've JUST posted Shanghai's first chapter up (WOOHOO!!! :woohoo so I'll take a while more. Talk to you later dearie!!

Having no sexytiemz, is quite alright with me. No worries But I hope Inuyasha gets what's coming to him >:[

Yussss for alternate endings! I luff them :3

I once asked my teacher if he could share his recipe for kimchi...it was wayyy to complicated. >.ndiment made of little fish/shrimp paste. *o* I. love. it. The only down side is that it smells, or rather some people find it very pungent. There's another one that uses pickled ginger, but the name escapes me.

Anyways, I've rambled. What I really wanted to say was: Sometimes I took sips from the pickle jar...just because. So you're not alone there.

Mang, you got me there. Sometimes I would 'collect' product boxes (like...the box where a compact blush would come in) and stuff it in my bathroom drawer, only because I thought I would have some use of it later. D: Then it just cluttered my drawers so I recycled them.

Frybread...I don't believe I had the pleasure of tasting one before. You have piqued my curiosity; now I want to make one. Here. I baked some French Butter cookays. *hands over*

Awwww Madeline sounds absolutely adorable!! What breed is she? Help me thank her for her sweet message! (I hope that means something nice in puppy talk LOL)

Awww sure, go on! I'd love to hear more about traditional dresses. It's really cool to know that you still wear traditional dresses these days...so many people no longer wear theirs. In fact, you are talking to one here. I have never worn anything that is made of animal skin, but it sure sounds comfy when I imagine soft leather! Beads and seashells will make it sooooo pretty I'd love to wear one if I ever get the opportunity to, though I have no idea how such an opportunity will ever come by for me. You're so lucky to get to wear this, Siki! I am sure you look amazing in it

The jingle dresses are soooo pretty! I love the vibrant colors and the ornaments adorning the dress~ Are those silverish things lining the skirt frills? The dresses come in every color, or do they come only in certain colors? Sorry for asking so many questions, my dear! I am really curious about this.

Oooooh the moccasins look sooooo cute!! They look really soft to wear too~ I really respect you for being so in touch with your ethnic culture. It's lovely, really! I wish I am like that, but sadly, no. No one does that in Singapore, which is pretty tragic. I will buy a pair of moccasins if I come across them!! I googled the Minnetonka ones and oooooooh now those are definitely fashionable!! I foresee myself buying a pair sooner or later~ LOL.

As for traditional Chinese dresses, they are pretty much what you've seen in the pictures. But those are definitely the more modern ones - the traditional ones which I'd be featuring here and there in Shanghai (the fic) would usually be vibrantly colored. The silk and satin will also be embroidered with designs of mythical creatures like phoenixes and auspicious creatures/ traditional symbols like goldfishes, plum blossoms, pussy willows, bamboo and so on. For weddings, they will definitely be red like this:

http://traditions.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/upload/upfiles/2010-03/04/traditional_chinese_wedding_dressesa529d59b9042e7ccf12f.jpg

Adorable, isn't it? But people barely wear them now, and this is usually the modern alternative:

http://media.theknot.com/ImageStage/Objects/0003/0047551/large_image.jpg

I agree, cultural exchange FTW!

Oooh purple would be gorgeous!! I usually look terrible in cool colors like purple and blue, so we'll see! i'd love a chili red cheongsam, but that's a little too glam (usually worn on stage or for weddings LOL). Arrrgh choices, choices!! I'd definitely post a picture when I buy one! I made Kagome wear a black one in chapter 3 of my Shanghai story, and don't you agree that black would go sooooo well with a string of pearls??

Awww dearie I lurrrrve shopping toooooo!! I swear, Shopaholic reminds me of myself!! LOL.

Do you wear traditional ethnic costumes, by any chance? I'd love to hear about them!

Lol I am just being truthful, my dear! It's good enough to be able to draw, be it with any medium! And I think you should draw more...talent should not be wasted!

I don't have a cheongsam, unless you consider one which I wore when I was a baby XD I intend to buy the cheongsam when Chinese new year is around the corner - that's when I might find cheaper deals and have a greater variety to choose from!! I am still having a hard time deciding on the color any suggestions?

OMG dearie, ten minutes?? Are you sure you did that in ten minutes?? If you're not talented, I don't know what you are! This is gorgeous. You should put up an actual picture one day!

Anyway, I've a link for you to take a look at. This is how the cheongsam looks like, and gosh, everyone there is soooooo slim and beautiful. i'm doomed. Spanx can't help me! *wails*

http://www.chinatoday.com/culture/qipao/qipao_2.htm

LOL I have no idea what chips those were since he poured them out into a bowl. But it was BBQ-flavored and it was divine!! YUMS. *licks lips*

Awwww Siki, you think too highly of me! I am really just another average fangirl I really like your new profile pic! Did you draw it yourself?

Oui, j'adore le chocolat aussi!! Everything with chocolate in it is good~ *starts imagining choco-flavored Sesshy and Byakuya* I adore fluffy white puppies toooo*hearts*

LOL dearie, trust me, I'm in desperate need of a diet!! *pats tummy* you see, I intend to wear a Chinese cheongsam for Chinese New Year in February of next year! It's an extremely form-fitting dress, so I'd need to do something about myself! I am sure you don't need one though! Your grandma's right XD

OMG whyyy is my brother munching away on chips??! I WANT. Byeeee diet!!!

My favorite part has to be when Sir Galahad is in the Castle Anthrax and when Lancelot subsequently 'rescues' him. XD Oh, dear.

I seriously can't wait for Sesshoumaru actual physical appearance D: Will there be fun sexytiemz? *wibble*

Pickles?! I actually loved pickles when I was a kid. I'd ask my mother to buy the spear-cut pickles and I'd eat it just like that. I love the crunch of...actually anything that's pickled. ...speaking of which, I should learn how to pickle food.

Yay for bacon and egg shaped bandaids! :3 *keeps in bathroom drawer* Ahah, I have a collection of unused bandaids...cause you never know when you're gonna use them!

And oh, I almost forgot.

*Hands Siki LIFE-SIZE Sesshoumaru and Byakuya PLUSHIES!!!*