Monday, 24 December 2007

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Britney's wild weekend

Trailed by the paparazzi, she takes snaps of her own

Oops, she did it again.

In the wake of her little sister Jamie Lynn’s headline-grabbing pregnancy announcement, it seems Britney Spears has made every effort to turn the spotlight back on herself.

The singer filled another weekend with late-night shopping trips, run-ins with paparazzi and wild driving – but still found time for her kids.

The adventure began just after midnight on Saturday morning, when she and a friend, her assistant Carla, left her Beverly Hills home in the singer's Mercedes – its headlights off and trunk open – and made the first of several stops at a Rite-Aid store in Hollywood, where Spears parked in a disabled-designated parking spot.

"I have stuff I have to buy for my babies," Spears told photographers on her way in.

After testing – but not buying – deodorant sprays, she emerged, spending a total of $57.46, with Lucky Charms cereal, Purex laundry detergent, Mrs. Field's chocolate chip cookies and a 32-inch plush horse (regular price $29.99, marked down by 50 per cent) labeled "For ages 4 and up."

Her "babies," Sean Preston and Jayden James, are 2 years and 15 months, respectively.

Spears then headed to Japanese restaurant Miyagi's on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. "Britney came here around 1:15 a.m. with a friend," restaurant manager Gator Lee told PEOPLE. "We had just closed the kitchen, but we opened it so she could get some food. She had chicken teriyaki and shrimp tempura. She didn't have anything to drink, no alcohol . . . She seemed fine, actually great."

Spears ended up taking the food to go because the restaurant was closing, Lee said, and drove to her Malibu home. Spears and her friend were later back at the Beverly Hills house by 5 a.m.

The next night, Spears drove a white Mini Cooper to Tony Taverna restaurant in Malibu. After dinner, she made a sudden stop to take a picture of a graffiti mural in Malibu with a digital camera. There, Spears had an angry encounter with paparazzi. "Move so I can take a picture. I'm just like you," she's heard saying photographers in a video clip posted on TMZ.com. But when the cameramen wouldn’t get out of the way, Spears screamed, cursed and slammed her camera on the hood of a nearby car before driving off.

Minutes later, she returned. Apparently, Spears lost the camera's memory card and was back to find it. Luckily, one of the photographers had the card and returned it. Then, Spears slipped into the passenger side of a silver Mercedes belonging to a photographer and sped off, her assistant following her boss's Mini Cooper.

The photographer and Spears – now dressed in a tight leopard-print dress and a pink wig – reappeared in separate cars later that night at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, where they spent several hours inside before he left without Spears.

After checking out from the Peninsula Hotel at 9 a.m. on Sunday, the late-night antics were over. Britney returned to her Beverly Hills house with her assistant to await the arrival of sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, who were dropped off with at noon for a previously scheduled visit. Spears and her boys spent the afternoon inside the gated community in Beverly Hills.

The singer's sons were scheduled to return to Kevin's Tarzana home at noon on Sunday.

By Gerri Miller