You've got a week to come up with something amazing that will guarantee that next year will go perfectly. Right. Now that we've discarded that ridiculous and frustrating idea, let's talk about why a New Year's Resolution could actually be a good idea. We're not referring to "losing a bazillion pounds by February" or "making ten hundred million dollars by March." This is about reflecting on the last year and going for what you want to focus on in this brand-spanking-new year.

The holiday season means that, in addition to work parties and other types of social parties, there are also the obligatory family gatherings. These are usually the toughest to avoid and, for some, the most anxiety provoking. So how do you avoid the usual conflict and anxiety that accompany family interactions? The following are a few ideas about how to be yourself (the good version) in the midst of family festivities.

Relationships are tough. Throw 2,000 miles into the mix, and they can feel impossible. It’s hard to leave a significant other while you run off to another state to pursue your dreams. But you have to at least try. Right?

Growing up in an Italian family, Thanksgiving was about three things: family, friends & food! For the past 4 years, I've been living in CA which is 3,000+ miles away from my family. Unfortunately, I've never had the funds or enough time off work to make it back for that delicious day. On the bright side, I've had the opportunity to start my own traditions. For the past few years, it's been all about Friendsgiving. It's pretty simple and very sweet: the person with the biggest apartment hosts and everyone meets up in the morning to start cooking together/ people roll in throughout the day with more food.

Sure we love singing in the rain, but we also like dry clothes, so we're probably going to be bumming around the house this weekend. There's no lack of random cleaning and fixing up style projects, but sometimes a bum has just got to relax. We're gonna pamper ourselves with a budget-friendly home spa day. You may go it alone or invite over some friends, but a little special treatment is always a good time. Let's go through the different body parts for an overall silky smooth achievement.

Happy first official day of Spring! It is crazy out there- sun, then rain, then blue skies again. So, instead of recommending an outdoor activity (which would likely get rained out), we recommend cleaning up your pad. Since you’ve been hibernating all winter, that may sound daunting but with the right frame of mind it could be a good start to a beautiful time of year.

What did you decide to accomplish this year? Scale Mt. Whitney or conquer Kilimanjaro? Right. So focus on what you can do: make some time for yourself. With all the demands on your schedule and the post-holiday blues setting in, you probably need some "me time." Whether you're in dire need of an hour on the couch or an afternoon walk, schedule an appointment with yourself on your shiny new 2011 calendar.

Why is it that the New Year inspires people to change their lives? Does the stroke of midnight somehow imbue us with more willpower? If you'd like to make a few improvements in 2011, more power to you. Happily, making resolutions is a free activity and, therefore, one which we support. But, before you go all nuts with the checklist, we've got a few suggestions for helping you create and stick with your New Year's resolutions.

Carolers around the country have been warning you to be nice, but chances are Santa may still leave you a whole lotta nothing in your stocking. It's not your fault; Santa is broke too this year. There's no need to skip the holiday spirit though. You can save Christmas with the help of a couple of bums from bum-ville. Forget the expensive (and unaffordable presents), call up the troops and trim a tree!

The holidays can give anyone a serious case of the gimme-gimmes. It’s hard to notice what you’ve got when billions of marketing dollars are being thrown around to convince you that just one more object is the key to happiness. The problem is that there’s always just one more thing standing between you and total nirvana. Not only can you probably not afford said catalyst, but it’s also probably not going to do the trick for very long. So here is the bum plan for getting through the holiday buying frenzy: we are trying to appreciate the little things.