She’s been through the ringer over the past year or so, and Britney Spears looks to be coming out on the other side of some serious drama - but she still has some work to do.

The “Gimme More” singer was spotted combing the racks of Paige boutique on Robertson Boulevard yesterday. She sported a blue and white striped shirt with a pair of figure-flattering jeans and her usual brown leather boots.

Following her shopping spree (and an exit aided by a police escort), the “Toxic” mommy headed over to Dominik’s restaurant with three pals for a delicious dinner.

According to Mark Vincent Kaplan, Kevin Federline’s lawyer, Britney is making some real progress, but she’s not out of the woods yet.

He told press, “Jamie is doing a really good job. There was a situation and that seems to be stabilized. Does that mean she’s cured? Of course not.”

As for reports that Spears is back with her former manager, Larry Rudolph, it looks promising, but nothing is official yet. Rudolph told press, “We didn’t talk about anything professional. I just sat and talked with her. I think she’s doing great. Her father is doing a great job with her and she’s in a great place right now.”

As the fifth anniversary of Madonna and Britney Spears’ kiss at the MTV Video Music Awards nears, it seems fair that the subject of Spears would come up in the course of Madonna’s interview with Vanity Fair’s Rich Cohen.
However, if events played out exactly as they appear in the magazine’s April cover story, Madonna didn’t even give Cohen the chance to pose a pointed question on the subject matter of Spears.
“Yes, I know. I know exactly what you’re going to say. It’s very painful,” Madonna, who turns 50 this summer, told Cohen when she sensed Spears was coming up. Cleverly, she answered the would-be question in the context of a subject she’d rather shed light on, Africa.
“When you think about the way people treat each other in Africa, about witchcraft and people inflicting cruelty and pain on each other, then come back here and, you know, people taking pictures of people when they’re in their homes, being taken to hospitals, or suffering, and selling them, getting energy from them, that’s a terrible infliction of cruelty. So who’s worse off? You know what I mean?”
The enigmatic Material Girl is rarely portrayed as thoroughly as she is in this issue of Vanity Fair. Kabbalah, the adoption of her son David from Malawi, the impact of having her family and their television habits are among the subjects touched upon in the piece. Madonna’s answers seem candid, and maybe a little humorless if your mind’s eye defaults to an image of Madonna in the ‘80s. Either way, it’s worth the read.

It’s close to April Fool’s day so let’s preface this by pointing out that this is not a joke: PETA has offered Britney Spears a job. For a day.

In a letter PETA president Ingrid Newkirk penned to Spears after seeing her “How I Met Your Mother Performance,” Newkirk offers Spears the chance to be a receptionist “for as little as an hour.”

Newkirk contends that the PETA target would see “from the inside, why we are so concerned about issues like fur and homeless dogs and cats. … We might have criticized you in the past for contributing to the dog overpopulation crisis and wearing real fur, but perhaps now that your own crisis has abated, a new day calls for a new relationship, a new outlook, and a new understanding,” the letter said.

The hourly pay isn’t so bad, either. The group is offering Spears a $1,000 donation to a children’s charity of her choosing.

While many celebrities take Mondays off to recover from the weekend, Britney Spears was all about taking care of business yesterday.

The “Gimme More” singer started off her day in familiar surroundings - a recording studio. She was spotted exiting Alleycat Recording Studios in Hollywood, looking comfy and casual in a khaki dress and shades while sipping a coke and puffing on her cigarette.

From there, the “Toxic” mommy headed over to Beverly Boulevard where she was spotted carrying take away food as she left Dominick’s. By that point, she had changed outfits, as she was wearing a white scoopneck top, distressed jeans, and brown leather boots.

Last night marked the return of Britney to the small screen, as she made an appearance on the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” She played a love-struck receptionist in a tattoo-removal clinic who falls for the show’s main character Ted.

Media and crisis management consultant Robbie Vorhaus told press the gig was a good move for the troubled pop princess. “This will be remembered as the beginning of the return of Britney as an actress, a personality, as someone trying to be normal in a pretty crazed world. Good for her.”

When it comes to Hollywood ladies, it seems that no one cooks anymore! And while her ex-husband Kevin Federline partied it up in Vegas for his birthday last night, Britney Spears enjoyed a dinner out.The “Gimme More” singer took a mini entourage over to West Hollywood for a delicious dinner at Dominick’s restaurant. Brit kept it casual with a hunter green shirt with a tan stripe across the front and a pair of jeans.

And it seems that everyone and their mother have taken notice of the “Toxic” singer’s recent decline. Even the Godfather of Physical Fitness, himself, Jack LaLanne has advice for the troubled starlet.

The 93-year-old poster boy for vitality told press, “I feel sorry for her. She has to develop pride and discipline in herself. She needs to put the right fuel in the machine. No wonder she feels the way she does. Look at what she’s putting into herself.”

Looks like Britney Spears’ “return to TV” doesn’t end with How I Met Your Mother - the troubled singer was also featured on Wednesday night’s South Park! Okay, sort of.On the episode, Britney Spears escapes to South Park, Colorado, to go camping to get away from everything. The celebrity news media follows her there, and when the boys sneak into her room, disguised as Sean and Jayden, to take a picture of Britney, she can’t handle it anymore and blows off her own head with a shotgun. It was basically an episode stating that the celebrity gossip media is killing Britney Spears slowly, something we all know at this point, right? Here’s a clip from the episode, taking place after Britney Spears has blown off her head. It’s pretty disturbing even by South Park standards …