Mostly, I just get busy and forget to do it.
I've been studying a *lot* for the Sun Certified Java Programmer exam, which I will be taking in early March.
Aside from that, I've been working on a bunch of personal projects. No "For Pay" type contract work- just ideas that I've had. Or that friends of mine have had and realized that the easiest way to get some free web development work is to dangle an interesting challenge in front of me. Probably a sign of some incurable personality defect- the fact that I'd rather work for free on a project that I find interesting and challenging than get paid for another boring, run-of-the-mill e-commerce site.
Of course, having a day job helps with that attitude. :)
That and an active 6-year-old daughter kinda keeps me from devoting a lot of time to things like, I don't know, social websites.
But I try.
Right now, though, my daughter has a chair-and-blanket fort built in the living room, so I'm going to light a fire in the fireplace, and go storm the gates.
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For what it's worth, I found the Bates and Sierra scjp 1.5 study guide invaluable. Not only that, it serves as a fine day-to-day reference.
Good luck!!