Not long ago I decided to take the leap and join Amazon Prime.  I had been thinking about it for a while (2 day shipping!!  Commercial-free music!  Books, books and more books!) and finally took the plunge after polling friends on Facebook (the overwhelming response was, “Do it!”)  Here’s what they don’t tell you about Amazon Prime:  it’s a conspiracy.  Positively, absolutely a conspiracy.  It used to be that if I wanted one or two items that didn’t total $35 I would just put them in my cart.  Often things would languish in my cart for months, which I think is indicative of the level of “need” behind the desire to purchase.  Now, with Amazon Prime, there are no minimum purchasing requirements.

Within the first two weeks of joining I purchased the following:

• 2 books:  Focus on Food Photography for Bloggers and Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition:  How to Shoot Great Photographs with any Camera
• Timex alarm clock
• 1 box Southworth Exceptional Resume Paper
• 2 cable charging cords for our i-phones
• Swissmar Borner Mandoline
• 1/2 lb culinary lavender

That seems like a lot.  Which makes me feel compelled to explain myself.

The books are pretty self-explanatory:  I started this blog about a month ago.  I’ve quickly realized that I truly am interested in honing my photography skills, as I’ve mentioned previously.  The blog has also made me realize that trying to shoot pictures of food is a challenging one.  I never realized how many shadows my kitchen had until now.  I always thought it was pretty bright and open.  Thus, books to learn by.

The alarm clock.  Rather random, yes?  Here’s the thing:  I have had the same alarm clock for years.  And I’ve hated it for years.  The display is red.  And large.  And, to me, very, very bright.  I had taped a piece of tissue paper over the display some years ago to help “dim” the light.  With limited success.  So, I turned the clock to the wall.  Which is all well and good unless you want to check the time.  This reads as ridiculous.  If I was a reader I would be saying, “Why didn’t you just buy a new alarm clock?!”  Well, you know.  I found a new Timex alarm clock on Amazon some months ago that offered three levels of brightness.  I put it in my cart.  And there it has sat.  Partly because it was $28 and didn’t meet the $35 minimum for free shipping.  I considered adding it to purchases I was making around Christmas, but I was spending all of my money on Christmas and a $28 alarm clock seemed a luxury that I didn’t need at the time.  It was one of my first purchases with Prime.  It’s amazing.  The display is so very dim.  It makes me happy.

The resume paper.  We recently ran out.  It’s always good to have some on hand.  I had it on my shopping list last weekend and thought to myself, “Hey, if you order it from Amazon that saves you a trip to Staples!”  Sold.  That was easy!  Did you see what I did there?

Charging cords for the i-phones.  We’ve had the phones for a year now.  Each with one cord.  That we move back and forth between the house and the vehicles.  Rather than just buying a couple of extra cords.  Which, combined, did not meet the $35 minimum.  Guess I could have combined them with the alarm clock.

Oh, the mandoline.  I’ve wanted a mandoline for a while now.  This, too, has been an item loitering in my cart.  What compelled me to finally order it was the potato dish I had planned for Easter dinner.  Cheesy Potatoes.  Thinly sliced.  I have a slicer attachment for my KitchenAid, but it doesn’t seem to do real well with slightly cooked potatoes.  Kind of makes a mess of them.  Therefore, I needed a mandoline.  I’m also going to need a bigger house if I keep buying stuff.

And, finally, the culinary lavender.  That was an impulse buy.  100%.  Remember the lemon curd that I made a couple of weekends ago?  After acquiring the lavender I made lavender shortbread cookies, served topped (slathered?) with lemon curd.

I do feel a bit guilty.  About all of my purchases?  No.  It’s the mail carrier.  And the UPS guy.  I might have to ply them with lavender shortbread cookies if I continue to order items one at a time, forcing them to come to the house (which is off the main road) on an almost daily basis.  I can’t be the only one doing that to them, right?

I’ll leave you with this:  who’s truly benefitting from Amazon Prime, at this point?  Looking at the items still in my cart (which I added to this morning) I’d say that Amazon is the big winner.  I am but a pawn.  A happy little pawn with a new dim alarm clock and a shiny new mandoline that arrived just in time for Easter.