Lighten

We went to the thrift store this past weekend.  Mostly we bought books, of course.  Also found this really cool lampshade for $3. 

We've needed a few new lampshades, but didn't want to pay $20 or more for new ones.  I liked the leaves printed on the inside of this one, which is why I got it. 

 Didn't realize how awesome it would look when it was turned on - love it!

The lamp reminded me of an interesting blog I found when I was researching to start this blog. Ali Edwards writes of beginning five years ago to choose a theme word for each year, and to spend the year thinking about the meaning, the implications and the heart of the word.  She challenged each reader to think of their own key word for this year.  The word that came to me, my theme for 2011, is LIGHTEN.  It's a verb, determining action, and has a wide variety of interesting applications.
 In her blog, http://aliedwards.com/ she asks, "Where will your "ONE LITTLE WORD" take you in 2011?" 
What word would you think of for your year, 2011?

The new lampshade does its little part in making our living room more cheerful and bright, lightening up our lives.