Which kit?

I have come full circle on which kit I want. But first, let me give a brief summary on the Big 3:

Stewart-MacDonald: Very limited options, no 14-fret OM. Tuners not included. Instruction manual top notch. Aside from the kits, their stuff is very high. I doubt I will ever buy anything from them.
Martin: Tuners included! Instructions suck. Best bang for buck. Back not joined though.
LMI: Options galore, kit wizard rocks. All things being equal, probably $100 higher than Martin. All those options are amazing, and probably worth it.

That being said, here is my journey over the past 6 weeks.

1) Started with the Martin 000, short scale, Indian Rosewood.
2) Found LMI, got fancy quick with a 000 with Cocobolo B/S.
3) Decided that cocobolo as a first timer (and being very sensitive to poison ivy/oak/sumac) was not good. Decided to go with Camatillo Rosewood instead.
4) The cost was adding up... and the complexity. Leaning toward the Martin Jumbo since Martin is the ONLY one of the big 3 that offers such. Indian Rosewood.
5) Currently thinking Martin OM, standard scale, bolt-on neck. $425. It comes with white plastic bindings and tuners.

I'll set it up like the Fingerstyle 1 OM, 1.75" nut, 2.25" at 12th fret. Ultimately I'd like a long scale 25.7", possibly from LMI in the future. But since this is my first time, I have a lot of tools and other stuff to buy besides the kit... about $650 currently. So that puts the total at about $1100. And that doesn't include the $100-150 I've spent so far on general things like books, a few general purpose clamps, cheap humidity gauge, some 2x4's for my new workbench, cheap laminate router (different project), etc.

If this is successful, the second time around I won't have much of that $650 to spend so I could go a bit fancier with a LMI long scale, camitillo B/S, wood bindings, etc. Who knows, after building one I may have a whole different perspective and decide to build a 10 string or something bizarre... who knows.

a... blog?

While I know what a blog is, I never thought I'd HAVE one. It takes a certain kind of vanity and ego to pour out ones thoughts for other people to read. I never thought I was either... hopefully not. Nevertheless, I have decided to create a blog to chronicle my journey into lutherie (maker of stringed instruments - in my case an acoustic guitar), primarily for my own benefit and other rookie luthiers going through the same stuff I am.
I have been thinking about this for many years, since 1998. But time, money, family, etc. have always discouraged me in a practical sense. And all this may still delay this further. But for now I am wanting to and planning to buy a kit in September '07 and begin building. I have already done a lot of reading and planning, and still have a lot of questions to answer in my own mind. But there is time. Ones brain can only assimilate so much information effectively without putting it to practical use. There is only so much I can learn without experiencing it... that is where true learning takes place.
The planning that I am referring to is three fold: financial, preparing my workshop (which is my basement), and determining what tools I will need to buy, borrow, make or do without. The better prepared I can be prior to starting this, the better.