Glad you decided to join the fun. There is a lot to learn and using pine for first projects is a good idea. Wood expancs across the grain, and hardly at all with the grain. So you'll soon learn how to attach wide pieces of wood so the expansion doesn't tear the piece apart. Ask lots of questions, we all love to help someone new to the addiction.
BTW, here is a pdf of the 18+ things that accelerated my learning curve. It's about 10 pages long but has pictures and is fairly concise. Sawdust collection is very important, and you should do something about it fairly early on. There are lots of options and you don't have to spend a lot at first. At the very least, always wear a mask. Home Depot has a very inexpensive dust collection lid for their 5 gallon buckets that have gotten a decent review and is only about $25 bucks. Works with a 2.5 inch shop vac, which show up occasionally in second hand shops and online listings. The bucket and lid separates almost all of the sawdust so the Shop Vac filter doesn't clog up. The real danger from sawdust are the ultra fine particles, and these hang in the air forever and are easily stirred up just by walking through your shop. So I ALWAYS wear a mask when going into the shop, and I have lots of dust collection gear in my shop. Your lungs can't cough up the ultra fine particles. Ever notice how many carpenters develop COPD by age 55?
Added picture of the HD Dust Stopper, and a picture of the Dust Deputy and shop vac setup, which is a little higher priced, and very popular around here.
