I was tagged to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about myself on Facebook but I thought I would write it here as a brain dump instead.

1. I have to check my gmail, facebook, and google reader at least once a day. I’m completely addicted to the internet. But if need be, I can “disconnect” if I’m on vacation or something so it’s not completely hopeless hehe.

2. I really miss making mixtapes or in the modern era…mix cds. It doesn’t help that I don’t really listen to much new music anymore though.

3. I’ve been to at least 6 Jack’s Mannequin concerts and plan on attending many more.

4. I’ve only had whole artichokes twice in my life and they were both SO GOOD. I think they might be my favorite vegetable.

5. I will eat at The French Laundry before I die.

6. I plan on retiring early at age 55 (unless they raise the minimum which is probable). I’ve maxed out all of my 401K and roth contributions since I started working to ensure this will happen. After that, I plan on travelling the world.

7. I really want to visit every continent at least once, including Antarctica.

8. I currently run 5 websites.

9. I like to ease myself into waking up. For example, while I was in FL I had 3 alarms that went off every half hour. By the time the 3rd one goes off, I find it much easier to get up.

10. I am not a morning person. I roll into work around 10am.

11. On weekends, I only get up after rounding up the time (unless I’m running late for something). For example, if it’s 10:23, I’ll get up at 10:30. If it’s 11:05, I’ll get up at 11:15.

12. If I had to survive with only one store, it would be Target hands down. I even buy my clothes from there!

13. I have a really hard time keeping in touch with people who don’t use the internet since I rarely talk on the phone. Which reminds me, I always feel guilty because I don’t call my parents nearly enough!

14. It really warms my heart when I witness a random act of kindness when the person doesn’t know anyone is watching.

15. I know I’m not perfect but I really love myself the way I am. I am always looking for ways to better myself of course.

16. My favorite vacation I’ve ever taken was Japan. It had all of the markings of a wonderful vacation: really good food, things to see that are way different from back home, and an excellent culture (I loved how clean and polite everything/one was)

17. Growing up, I always had some kind of pet. Although I absolutely love animals, I don’t think I’ll ever own another pet because I’m so lazy.

18. I have a very competitive spirit but I’m totally ok with losing. In fact, I welcome it because it gives me something to work towards. I lose interest quickly otherwise.

19. I love big families and wish my own lived closer together. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays because it’s one of the few times in the year that we all get together.

20. I finally started drinking more water this year but it’s still not nearly enough. I hate water!

21. I don’t remember the last time I paid for a movie rental since I started using redbox.

22. I have always had roommates or lived with somebody. This is nice because I think if I didn’t, I would be a total hermit.

23. I had a really great childhood and I totally miss it. This is probably why I’m pretty much a “big kid” now.

24. I’m addicted to star news and gossip. My favorite celebrity is Britney Spears which is weird because I used to really hate her. I know, I should be shot. I’m the reason for those annoying paparazzis!

25. I miss being bored and having nothing to do. It seems like my life is so busy nowadays. I like the feeling of having a whole day ahead of you with no plans. I crave spontaneity, adventures, and randomness.

Boy, this was really tough coming up with 25 things! Anyone else want to share?

Did you know Jamba Juice is selling steel cut organic oatmeal now? To promote it they have this printable coupon out for you to try it for only a $1! It’s normally $2.95. It comes with fruit and brown sugar crumble. And for you lactose intolerant it’s made with soymilk!

I’ve had it for the past two days and it is SOOOO GOOD. The oatmeal has this nice chewy consistency and I love the different fruit options. I suggest you go out and try it now!! For you west coasters there’s still 1 hour left (they stop serving it at 11am) and there’s still tomorrow.

(x-posted on my One Red String blog but I figure most people might not be reading that)

North Korean Prison Camp – this is a really interesting article about a prison camp in N. Korea. It’s just crazy the injustices that are happening around the world…it’s like a movie!
Group Hug – a website consisting of anonymous confessions
Obama inauguration photos – with funny comments!
The top ten best companies to work for – I know the hype about working for google but I’ve been reading more and more about disgruntled workers there!
One more inauguration link…lip readers at the inauguration – It’s reported by The Sun so take what you will hehe
Homemade girl scout cookie recipes – I have still yet to find a good recipe for the lemon drops

Don’t believe me? Click on this link.

This is a really cool dance performed by 21 deaf-mutes. It was debuted at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. It’s pretty amazing.

This is one of the better lists I’ve seen. Check out the link for some stunning pictures.

10. Grand Canyon, United States
9. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
8. Cape Town, South Africa
7. Taj Majal, India
6. Rocky Mountains, Canada
5. Machu Picchu, Peru
4. Egyptian Pyramids
3. Petra, Jordan
2. Great Wall of China
1. Iguazu Falls

If you’re planning on travel this year, check out Airfare Watchdog’s top 10 airfare tips. My tip? Use http://farechase.yahoo.com for all of your travel searches!

PS. I have some links I want to dump so be on the lookout for a few more posts today!

Superbowl is coming up and in response to all of the bacon hype here are some tasty superbowl recipes that include bacon! yum!

Hot Bacon-Blue Cheese Dip

– makes about 1 3/4 cups –
Ingredients
6 thick slices lean smoked bacon
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup lager beer
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled
Your favorite breadsticks

Procedure
1. In a large skillet, fry the bacon over moderate heat till almost crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble coarsely.
2. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet, add the onion, and stir 3 minutes. Add the flour and stir 3 minutes longer. Whisking, add the milk and beer, then add the Worcestershire and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a low boil, whisking, cook for 2 minutes, and remove from the heat. Add the bacon and blue cheese and stir till the cheese is melted.
3. Transfer the dip to a small bowl and serve with bread sticks.

Guacamole and Bacon Chunky Dip

– makes 36 canapes –

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
1/2 tomato, chopped
3 tablespoons minced scallions (white parts only)
1 tablespoon minced fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
1 small chile pepper, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 slices lean slab bacon
12 thin slices pumpernickel bread, crusts removed
Softened butter for spreading

Procedure

1. In a bowl, mash the avocado with a wooden spoon till lumpy, add the tomato, scallions, coriander, chile pepper, lime juice, and salt and pepper, and mix till well blended. Cover the guacamole with plastic wrap and chill briefly.

2. In a large skille, fry the bacon over moderate heat until almost crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble. Add the bacon to the guacamole and stir till well blended.

3. Lightly butter the bread slices, spread the guacamole equally on the slices, and cut into thirds.

Swiss and Bacon Dip
Ingredients:

8 slices center cut bacon, chopped
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 rounded teaspoons prepared Dijon style mustard
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup smoked almonds, coarsely chopped
Baby carrots and a selection of spiced flat breads, cocktail sized pumpernickel or rye breads, or sliced whole grain baguettes, for dipping
Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Brown bacon in nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Drain crisp bacon bits on paper towels.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Dijon, Swiss and scallions with cooked bacon. Transfer to a shallow small casserole or baking dish and bake until golden and bubbly at edges, 15 to 18 minutes. Top with chopped smoked almonds. Place dip on a platter and surround warm casserole with breads and carrots for dipping.

Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks

24 4 1/2″ hard sesame seed covered breadsticks
12 slices bacon cut in half
1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap half slice of bacon around each breadstick spiraling down covering breadstick. lay on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until bacon looks done. Remove from oven and cool just until able to handle. Meanwhile mix garlic powder and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Roll the bacon covered breadsticks in the cheese mixture and set on serving plate.

And lastly, check out this cool site. It will put a piece of bacon on any website…just attach it to the end of the url like I did with girlrobot.net – http://bacolicio.us/http://www.girlrobot.net

It’s past midnight and I don’t have time for a post so you get this awesome video instead.

I haven’t done one of these in awhile…these are the things I’m using and loving and highly recommend:

Google Chrome – I have to admit I’m pretty much a fan of anything Google puts out so it’s no surprise that I absolutely love their browser. It’s extremely fast, especially loading up, and everything is just so intuitive. I love how google search is built into the address bar and and the startup page is your most visited websites. It’s just a simple browser that has what I need and does what I want.

Podcasts – I’ve been getting back into podcasts again since I started using my iPhone. The ones I subscribe to are Best of YouTube, Indie Soup, a variety of NPR ones, Savage Love, This American Life, Lip Gloss and Laptops, and VH1 Best Week Ever. Any recs?

Sephora eyeliner brush #23 and Stila Smudge Pots – Yes! I’ve finally found an eyeliner that I’m comfortable using

Foodie At Fifteen – A new blog I’m reading. this kid’s amazing. I wish I had a friend like him when I was younger. One who would make these scrumptious looking pancakes the morning after a sleepover.

Scarves from Forever 21 – I don’t care what you think. I’m going to wear my scarves in my 70 degree socal weather. :) I love the selection of scarves at F21 and most of them are under 10 bucks! Somebody help meeee.

iPhone apps – I’m still going crazy over my iPhone. I have almost 9 pages full now…I think I’m about to hit my max :( I’m actually thinking of starting an iPhone app recommendation weekly post…but I’m not sure how many iPhone users I have as readers. Some cool ones I’ve dled recently are Word Party (it’s like taboo!!), WiPix (turn all of your iPhone photos into a slideshow viewable on the web), and Trulia (we used it to search for open houses this weekend…it was awesome!).

How a man lost $150K in a Nigerian scam – sigh, when will people learn?
4 in 10 people laugh at bad jokes – I hate when people tell bad jokes…and there’s that awkward silence
Almost unrecognizable – a list of movies stars that don’t look like themselves. tom cruise and robert downey jr in tropic thunder!
Barack Obama’s letter to his daughters – It’s a cool and unique experience but at the same time it sucks they are deprived of a normal childhood and a father really. On the other hand I’m sure they will have opportunities and experiences we can only dream about having!
What you should know before coming to America – some of these are pretty funny (and true!)
Reality Wanted – a listing of every open casting call for the next reality show. I’m always amazed at the new and crazy ideas they keep coming up for reality tv shows.