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!

Summertime is party time! So why not throw a pool party? Oh, and if you don’t have a pool? Doesn’t matter -- it’s not required!

Huh, wha-? That’s right. You can put the “cool” in pool just by making it your party’s theme. We’ve got all the best pool party ideas right here -- invites, décor, menu, games and more!

Pool Party Invites
To make fun invitations, take some blue construction paper and cut each sheet into four equal squares. This will give you flat cards that are roughly 4 inches by 5 inches -- cut enough to have one for each guest.

Using crayons or markers, write the party info on the back of each card (tell your guests to wear swimsuits and bring beach towels, even if you’re pool-less!). Once that’s done, flip over each card and hot-glue a wrapped Life Saver (or any round hard candy with a hole in the center) onto the front of the “pool” and a wrapped stick of gum to the edge to look like a diving board. On the surface of the “water,” write something fun, like, “Too-cool No-pool Party! Dive Right In to the Fun!”

Pool Party Décor
Pool or not, you’ll want to have your party outdoors. If you have a pool, great! If not, buy a small, tot-size wading pool as your party’s centerpiece and load it up with inflatable swimming toys.

For the rest of the décor, get grass skirts from the party supply store and use them to line railings, tables and doorways (trim to fit if necessary). Fill cheap plastic beach buckets with sand and stick pinwheels in them. If you have a patio, string up silk tropical flowers or outdoor lamps. Scour your house for anything that has a summer vibe, such as those carved-coconut souvenirs you got during last year’s family vacation. And set out plenty of lawn chairs!

Pool Party Munchies
If your dad or mom loves to grill, enlist his or her help for some outdoor barbecuing. Hit up the local produce stand for fresh fruits and vegetables to make salads and kabobs. Mix up fresh-squeezed lemonade for thirst quenching
-- and don’t forget the little paper umbrellas!

For dessert? Bake your favorite cake and add a few drops of blue food coloring to white icing before you frost it. Then go all-out by decorating it with candy (unwrap the candies this time around!). As with the invites, use sticks of gum as a diving board, then add lots of gummy fish, make “rafts” from Fruit Roll-ups or other fruit snacks and string a candy necklace or licorice twist across the center for a “rope.”

Pool Party Games
Set up several “fun-in-the-sun spots” around your pool party area for these activities:

Lifeguard Loop
Purchase a bunch of inflatable life rings (usually available at the dollar store), blow them up before the party and use them for a ring-toss game. Have your guests throw them at a tall, thin tropical floor plant, or enlist the help of your little brother (if he can stand still long enough!).

Braid in the Shade
Put out a pile of plastic beads, hair elastics and floral hair accessories, and let your friends braid each other’s hair. Go for a single braided strand on one side, or experiment with piles of messy braids upon braids.

Hot Hula
Gather together some hula hoops and let your guests show off their skills. The world record for hula-hooping is nearly 75 hours! Think one of your pals could beat that?

Hello, summer! It’s time to sweat, but that doesn’t have to mean runny makeup or bad hair. From face tanner to turquoise toenails, feeling fine in summer is as cool as our collection of no-sweat strategies for those hot, steamy days when you find yourself really working up a serious ... glow.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, Like Zits
The science of a simple blemish is basic: a clogged pore. Finding a sunscreen that doesn’t break you out is no different from finding a moisturizer that works for you. Choose a product that’s designed for faces only, and apply it to clean skin when your hands are clean. (Forget foundation, which clogs your pores when it’s hot!)

After you’ve been in the sun all day, wash your face with a mild cleanser and cool water to temper inflammation before you go to bed. If you do get a zit, put an ice cube in a paper towel and hold it on the blemish to dry and cool it. Oh, and drink lots of water to keep your skin detoxed.

Your Period, 90 Degrees and Shorts
Summer lasts three months, so that’s three periods. If you haven’t been keeping track of your cycle on your phone calendar, start now! When it’s close, wear a panty liner so you’re prepared. When it comes, put away the shorts! Dresses and jumpers are amazing for hiding bloat and staying cool.

A tampon will take care of business if you want to swim; just tuck the string up so it doesn’t accidentally poke out of your swimsuit. Tip: Always keep a good supply of tampons and liners in your bag, just in case!

What to Do About Tee Stains
Why does sweat stain? Most sweat stains are the result of aluminum salts in antiperspirants. The salts don’t completely dissolve, and the sweat stain on your clothes is usually yellow or greenish. Eeeew.

This works: Wash clothes in the hottest temperature and use a minimum amount of detergent. Then, choose a deodorant that doesn’t have aluminum salts. You can also try a gel or non-powder spray, but remember to let it totally dry before you dress.

Your Guide to Goof-proof Self-tanning
Baking out in the sun is a huge no-no, but sometimes a girl still wants a little glow! When you find a self-tanner that works with your natural skin tone, it’s like discovering beauty in a bottle.

Your best bet is to always apply tanner on totally dry skin after you shower. We banish foams to beauty detention for their nearly guaranteed streaking. Tanning moisturizers, on the other hand, give all-over coverage and nourish the skin. Next, try a spray product over your tan moisturizer for a double hit of color. Hold the can at least 6 inches from your skin and lightly apply the spray, like a mist. When you’re done, wash your hands in warm water and soap.

From Bedhead to Wet Head
If you’re all about your hair, summer isn’t always cooperative. To deal with post-swim tress mess, keep a small comb or brush in your bag and, when you get out of the pool, run it through your hair. (If there’s a shower or hose, rinse out the salt water or chlorine before brushing.)

If you like your hair wavy, tousle it with your fingers and let it sun-dry. But if it’s a humid day, your hair may dry frizzy or flat, so pull into a slick low pony. Otherwise, get under a cute straw fedora!

All your girls have boyfriends, and you keep thinking about how things would be way more fun if you had a BF too. Stop that! Being single means you have way more chances for fun than your attached friends. Don’t believe us? Just in case you have your doubts, here are some reminders about why being single rocks.

Make friends with the boyfriends’ friends.
There are limitless opps to hang out in a group together. Stuff like bowling is way more fun with lots of people. And if your friends’ BFs are awesome, that means their buddies probably are too. How lucky you are to get a chance to get to know some of these guys on a casual level, without the pressure of dating. And what an awesome way to expand your group of friends!

Stay outside of boyfriend drama.
OK, maybe there’s a little seepage from your friends’ boyfriend dramas. But you won’t have to deal with your own BF drama. Get in a fight over going to see the new chick flick instead of the latest alien robot action thriller? Not a chance! You’re your own movie-selection-making machine.

Have girl-only time, all the time!
There’s a reason why “girl time” is considered to be awesome. Because it is! You can only talk about Zac Efron’s dreamy eyes for so long before a boy will change the subject to how many zombies he’s killed in some mindless video game. But be gentle when asking your attached friends for some time with them. Go for, “I’m dying to see The Lucky One. You in for a girls’ night?” Not, “Can we do something without your boyfriend for once?”

Hang out with whatever guy friends you want.
Boyfriends get jealous sometimes. Should they? We don’t think so. But at least when you’re single, you don’t have to worry about someone getting upset over your splitting an ice-cream sundae with a guy friend.

Have more time to be there for your friends.
No worrying about dealing with a peeved boyfriend when you have to cancel plans at the last minute because a friend needs help with her homework or just wants you to come over and bake cupcakes. And who’s she gonna turn to when she has an extra concert ticket because she and her BF are on the outs? Her single friend, of course! Hey, duty calls.

Appreciate the quality of your friendships.
Sure, you have occasional spats with your BFFs. But the truth is that friendships survive a lot more tough stuff than romantic relationships. Years down the road, you’re going to be thankful for all the friendships you had -- not all your boyfriend breakups. Being single gives you way more time to work on those friendships you’re going to treasure for the rest of your life.

Enjoy your alone time.
Being alone gets a bad rap, but it shouldn’t. There’s a lot to be gained in having some quiet time to reflect and get acquainted with your true self! So when all of your friends are out doing the couples thing, be grateful for your personal freedom. Break out the rollerblades and take a spin around the neighborhood, or lock yourself in your bedroom to perfect those cute nail art designs.

You’ve seen the movie Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, right? Judy and her friends broke out some poster board and, with a few colored markers, determined that their summer would be an adventure! You can do the same by getting your friends together for a planning committee meeting (not as serious as it sounds). Bring on the summer fun!

Meet and Greet
Where will your club members meet and how often? Figure out a spot -- somebody’s basement or backyard (or rotate between each other’s houses), say, every three days at 3:33 p.m. sharp.

The Rule Book
Keep a notebook with club “rules and regulations.” (Please, don’t get all control-freaky -- the point is to have fun with this!) Keep a log of all the members’ names and phone numbers, and take notes of group discussions. If you decide to elect officers, whoever gets voted keeper of the club notebook will be in charge of its safekeeping.

Calendar of Events
Your summer fun club should also have a master calendar on which you and your friends can plan and keep track of activities. Need ideas for what to do? Here’s our spectacular summer fun club to-do list:

1. Solve a mystery.
Has your neighbor’s cat been disappearing for days on end? Or maybe you’ve always wondered who’s buried in that unmarked grave on the end lot. Make it a Nancy Drew club and crack a mysterious case of whaddup-wit-dat?!

2. Build a fort.
Even if you don’t have the materials, know-how or tools to construct a full-on fancy clubhouse, we’ve seen some pretty righteous structures built out of lawn furniture and curtain sheers. Get creative!

3. Learn a circus trick.
Get each of your friends to perfect a performance skill, such as a magic trick or tumbling routine, then stage a show for all of your parents.

4. Plan a field trip.
Decide on a destination -- maybe a nearby amusement park or cultural festival -- then figure out all the details (e.g., how to raise the money for admission tix, whose parents can supervise, transportation, etc.).

5. Do a neighborhood cleanup.
Show your neighbors how much you love them -- and the earth -- by keeping the area beautified. Walk around public areas, such as parks and schools, and pick up stray trash.

6. Prep a potluck picnic.
Grab some large blankets and head outdoors for lunch! Have each friend bring something to eat. (A signup sheet in the club notebook will help avoid doubling up on food items.) And remember to put someone in charge of plates and utensils.

7. Plant a community garden.
Maybe there’s a neglected plot of land in your neighborhood, or perhaps the elderly neighbor next door hasn’t been able to take care of her yard work. Your crew can volunteer to dig up the weeds, dispose of the debris and do some creative landscaping.

8. Race to the finish line.
Make a list of goals each club member must reach before the summer is over. These could include things like “Swim 100 laps at the public pool,” “Get a postcard from another state” or “Learn to do a back handspring.” Whoever completes her list first scores a blue-ribbon prize!

9. Have a yard sale.
You might not have enough stuff to justify a yard sale on your own, but what if you and your girls were to pull it off together? Figure out who has the best location, put all your for-sale items out with price tags, and split the earnings. Then give half of all the money you made to an agreed-upon charity.

10. Start a newsletter.
Create a newsletter to share with neighbors or just between you and your friends. (No gossip; spread good-vibing tidbits only!) Get each girl to write articles in her area of expertise, whether it’s music reviews or hard-hitting news.