Mommy Bloggers: In Praise of Amalah

This week, we have the pleasure of featuring the irrepressible Amy Storch of Amalah.com. Amy has been keeping her readers alternately riveted and in stitches for over two years. Profiled last year in The Washintonian, Amalah.com has also garnered a mention on Dave Barry's site. With her mad haiku skills, foodie husband, her adorable dog with the easily mispronounced name (Ceiba = 'say-bah') and possibly the most beautiful baby on the planet, Amy inspires loyalty and admiration from her readers by keeping it real.

Amy writes with such a perfectly balanced sense of snark, one would think she went to blogging culinary college to perfect the recipe. She hasn't shared her secret, but after careful analysis, we suspect it breaks down something like this: A tablespoon of irreverence, a cup of off-the wall, a dash of heartbreak, and a gallon of natural storytelling talent. Stir, then plate it with flair. Garnish with side-splitting self-deprecation, honesty, and sprinkle with an eye for fashion and an encyclopedic knowledge of hair-care products. Then buckle your seat-belt and dig in. The woman is a master.

We love reading Amalah.com because Amy writes from the heart. There are so many people who can see themselves in her stories. Her ability to laugh at herself, as well as others, while maintaining a sense of personal honesty keeps us coming back for more.

We could go on and on about our admiration for Amy. Instead, we asked some of her readers to tell us why they enjoy Amalah, and we were blown away. Amy is, without a doubt, a superstar. Take a look at some of the feedback we've received:

Jessica has this to say about Amy:

Amalah was my first experience with the world of blog...I found her through Snarkywood, where I thought her comments were so clever and I knew it was meant for me to love when she mentioned an obsession (albeit a small one) with Coach bags. Now, it's the first site I check when I hit that slow spell at work. Through her site, I've found all my other favorite blogs. I love her sense of humor and how it shines through even the most hair-pulling days. I totally stalked the archives at first and totally got busted cracking up at work. I just think she is so creative, talented, well-spoken, together (that whole randomly falling thing doesn't count), witty, clever..oh, and gorgeous, of course. I am a couple years younger at 25 and it's so awesome to know a) we do stay cool, even as we take on careers, husbands, etc. b)there are things about having a baby I should be terrified of and yicked out by and c) when I "grow up" I want to live next door to Amy, Jason and the tallest baby ever....
Amy, thank you for making me laugh every day and being someone to look up to...oh and must'nt forget the Advice Smackdown, how else would I have found the right moisturizer??? You are a black-belt badass chick!!"

Lauren, who is hysterically funny, found a kindred spirit in Amy:

"Amy brings the funny, and then some. When I used to contribute to Snarkywood, I would sometimes come onto the scene after Amy had already put in her comments to the photos we were snarking, and I would literally sit there with my jaw on the floor. She can make ANYTHING funny (ie JOAN RIVERS).
Amy's quick wit is a constant source of entertainment to everyone around her, and I really admire that. She's genuine, and has the ability to snark without taking the easy road and being mean-spirited.

A couple of years ago we used to do a blogging "soap opera" via cartoon called The Bold & The Blogalicious - we had nothing to work with but a template, and we would take turns alternating the story lines. In those days, when it was my turn, and she'd send me what she had done, I'd sometimes have to lay my head down on my desk from all of the laughter. And it was a real challenge to keep up with her. We never really did it to entertain others, just ourselves, and we amused the crap out of each other.

Amy just *gets* what's funny, without even trying. She'll find the fun in any situation, and she'll make you bust a gut in the process."

Boozie added her thoughts on Amy's talents:

"Amalah is a very talented writer; not because of the quality, but because when I read her posts, I can actually "hear" her telling the story. She is a real person with a real life, with real insecurities and real neuroses. But she's able to laugh at herself, in a public forum, and allow others to relate on a variety of levels. I think people find comfort in that; in seeing there is actually someone else out there like them. I, for instance, can't relate to any of her posts about Noah, but I can certainly understand anything that has to do with drinking, falling, and having hangovers.

Diana respects Amy's lighthearted approach:

"Aside from being a wonderful writer and mother, Amy is a fantastically funny friend. I know that when stupid things go on in my life, that Amy will be there to help make fun of the people that are acting like fools. I also love her because she and I write much better story lines for Gilmore Girls than anything the Pallidino's are currently shoving down our throats."

Rock Star Mommy puts the haters in their place:

"Amy's son and my son were born just weeks apart. So, when something is going on and I feel like I'm seriously going to lose my mind, I just go to Amy's site and, more frequently than not, she's going through the same thing. Then she makes me laugh at her, thereby laughing at myself and making me feel a little less crazy.
She's also the kind of fabulous that most people want to be, what with her clothes, shoes, Coach bags, and Sephora products.

Because she is so popular, so beautiful, and so fabulous, a lot of people hate on her. But that's just because they only wish they could be as popular, beautiful, and fabulous. Amy is the Sienna of the blogosphere"

HeatherB knows the Amy behind the blog:

"I started reading Amy's blog about a month before she had Noah and quickly read through the archives and found her positively witty and charming. Not only in her words but in real life as well. She also enjoys the same things I do: wine, swearing and an intense love for Coach bags and if that's not a reason to love her, then I don't know what is. I have the fortune of babysitting for Noah and at times some parents and their children can be a handful, but it seriously has been a pleasure getting to know Amy in this capacity. She's a very funny person and humble about her success in the blogosphere and most importantly a wonderful mother. The latter of course being her greatest success of all."

Linda adds her endorsement:

"Last summer, I perceived blogging to be the internet version of watching someone's home movies and so I was about as uninterested as could be. A friend, however, dragged me in and said "No, no... that's NOT it. Give it a shot!" At first, I came across many 'home movies' types of blogs and ~ yawn ~ I was not impressed. Then I found Amy's blog and have been hooked ever since. The girl puts out some FUNNY stuff, and who doesn't like to laugh? At the same time, she is fabulously flawed, sharing her wonderful but imperfect self with us, the issues around pregnancy and child birth and being a new mother and returning to work. We've all been there. Amy gives us a chance to learn from her, to learn along with her, and maybe even occasionally to part with a pearl of wisdom to help her learn from us. She's not better than us or worse than us - she's merely ONE of us and we identify with her and her issues and struggles and worries. Only they're SO much more amusing coming out of her mouth than ours. Great blog! Definitely a must-check-daily place on the net."

Tracey thinks Amy is the cat's meow:

Amy is the snarkiest of the snarkiest, and so i naturally fell in love with her immediately. there are in fact times when i feel she may be out snarking me, but her loveliness is such that rather than making me want to kill her, her snarking supremacy instead fills me with feelings of adoration and awe. Amy is one f***ing rad beeyatch.

Miss Zoot just loves Amy:

"Amy, both with her site and her friendship, was able to keep me focused during my struggle get pregnant and kept me sane during my pregnancy. She has the ability to make me laugh on even my darkest days and can talk me out of my bitchy moods when I'm feeling the need to rage on the internet. She is great writer and an even better friend."

You've heard from us. You've heard from some of her bazillion admirers. Check back later this afternoon as we chat with Amy of Amalah.com, and hear from the Queen of Everything herself!

In Praise of Amalah

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