25 Things You Can Do to Make Today Shine!

Happy summer! You get to stay up late, sleep in late, play outdoors … and you don’t have to do homework.

Still not satisfied? Whining is lame, so here’s our list of 25 super-simple things you can do to shine awesomeness all over your day! (Refer back to this list often for instant mood-lifting.)

1.    Make a jelly-jar bouquet. Pluck some backyard blooms, and then plunk ’em in water in a clean jar.

2.    Take 10 minutes to still your mind. Look around (or within) and find something to appreciate.

3.    Make a watercolor postcard by cutting a piece of thick stock paper to 4 inches by 6 inches and painting on it. Write a sweet note on the back, and mail it to a friend.

4.    Create a salad! Hit up the fresh produce stand (or a garden) for veggies and fruits. Add a handful of nuts or crumbly cheese and top it off with a splash of oil and vinegar.

5.    Plant some seeds. Pick up inexpensive packets, or use seeds from fresh produce by letting them dry out on a paper towel before planting.

6.    Hug someone you wouldn’t normally hug, like your sweaty brother or the neighbor who has an old-lady smell. Go on. …

7.    Start a rock collection. Rocks are fun to paint too!

8.    Play hopscotch. Break out the chalk … and a rock from that collection.

9.    Take a cool bath. Beat the heat with a tub full of bubbles.

10. Enjoy fresh mint sprigs in your iced tea or lemonade. (It’s the little things that matter.)

11. Wash the car. Water-filled fun and points with the parentals!

12. Read something a teacher didn’t assign. Flip through a magazine, comic book or paperback.

13. Dance. Need we say more?

14. Drink lots of water. From the hose.

15. Walk your dog or a neighbor’s dog.

16. Swing on the nearest swing set … or tire swing -- even better!

17. Tune in to the language of birds. Swear, heard one recently that went, “Jupiter, Jupiter, Jupiter!”

18. Play in the sand. No beach? No problem, mon. Buy a bag of sand from the craft or garden store and dump it somewhere parent-approved. Your castle awaits.

19. Paint your toes and fingers in rainbow colors.

20. Have an eagle eye for nature’s gifts, such as stray feathers and robins’ eggshells.

21. Put your head in the clouds, and let the puffy formations inspire your imagination.

22. Sing out loud, even if you’re certain you’d never make the first cut of “American Idol.”

23. Smile and LOL. Just because.

24. Cook something on a stick after the folks torch up the grill. Sure, marshmallows and hot dogs are good ol’ standbys, but what else?

25. Walk barefoot in the grass. Watch your step -- honeybees!