getting started with NXP microcontrollers - Programmers/IDEs/Compilers/Eval Boards
Have you checked out the LPC1343 (Cortex M3) board from Microbuilder? (http://www.microbuilder.eu/Projects/LPC1343ReferenceDesign.aspx)

Could be a cheap stepping stone to get familiar with ARM dev environments. You can easily upload the program via USB (it appears as a USB flash drive, and you just dump your hex file in there).

Microbuilder also has tutorials to get you up and programming with free tools (Codelite/YAGARTO).