Does anyone brew their own beer

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at home? if so, how involved is it (time, $ etc) and what are some good kits to get started

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I've done it for a while now - enjoyable as hell.

Time involved depends on a lot, but for basic extract brewing (where you'll want to start) its less than more advanced brewing. You're looking at approximately 3-4+ hours on brew day (includes prep, brewing, cooldown, and cleanup). Your first batches will be slow, but you'll pick up speed as you get the hang of it. Bottling takes another hour or so. Minimum time from brewing to drinking is about 4 weeks. As you advance, that number will change somewhat.

Equipment kits: Any of the kits on these sites will do you well

Northern Brewer
MoreBeer
Williams Brewing

With all of these kits, you'll need to supply 48 bottles (no twist-offs), and a brew kettle (any 3+ gallon stockpot will do for beginning brewing).

Ingredient Kits: Of all of the online sites, I highly recommend both William's Brewing and Northern Brewer's kits. You'll get 5 gallons (48 12oz bottles) out of most standard kits. As time progresses, you'll start formulating your own recipes and buying ingredients separately.

Recommended reading: I highly recommend that you buy some books if you're serious about getting into the hobby. John Palmers "How to Brew" is an excellent resource which you can also view free of charge online. Also helpful are homebrewing message boards like MoreBeer, Northern Brewer, and The Brewing Network. If you've got access to a newsreader, rec.crafts.brewing is a good source for help as well.

Hope something in that helps!

I'm pretty sure SwampDawg does, if you can catch him online.

Why not leave it to the professionals?

My coworkers bought me the Mr. Beer brewing kit for my wedding present, and I started a week ago. I'm gonna bottle it in a few days. We'll see how it turns out.