Page one of the datasheet.. http://www.atmel.com/Images/doc8161.pdf

High Endurance Non-volatile Memory Segments
...
– Write/Erase Cycles: 10,000 Flash/100,000 EEPROM
– Data retention: 20 years at 85°C/100 years at 25°C
....

The 1960s has called and wants it's thread back.

Seriously? So I guess that's why quite a few members on this forum use this method. 

You can use an Uno..

Google for the code.  I think are around 152 different websites with the code you need.

Most people use wire wrap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrap

You can use a simple voltage divider made up of resistors.

You use this to get the values: http://www.raltron.com/cust/tools/voltage_divider.asp

Are you using an Arduino as ISP? Than yes. 

As long as you have a programmer, basically.

It' was something I read while on one of my searches.  Hell, I don't even know if I wrote it right..

Q: Why are C++ programmers so snobby to C programmers?

A: Well, frankly, the latter doesn't have much class.

Care to share the link?  That is puzzling.  Might be a spell checker mistake.

But if a phototransistor can catch cockroaches, I know a few family members that could use them..

I would suggest you contact the company you bought it from.

Is IRrecv related to a library?

Post your code with code tags.  Reply to this thread, paste your code, highlight your code, click on the # button in the editor.

I understand that the usb port will not work, but this is not a problem, because I will only use it for programming
the micro.

Than you need the bootloader.  If there is no bootloader, then you can't upload via USB.

After doing a lot of searches I still cannot find the source code of the arduino micro
bootloader. (I do have an ISP)

...\Arduino\arduino-1.0.4\hardware\arduino\bootloaders\caterina

If you still want to get rid of the bootloader, You will need an ICSP programmer like the AVRISP MKII.  All you need to do is program your board with it and it will delete the bootloader.

Did you have a question?

A photocell is pretty easy to connect to an arduino.

The next part would be GSM so you can send text.  This one looks easy to use, https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9607

Are you printing "!!!" anywhere in your code?