Hi Bud,
This sounds right up my street, I would recommend downloading the free version of VB.NET as you should be able to build nicer looking GUI than you can in VBA as its very limited to what control you can use.
I fancy building something similar, but struggling to get the time as I am building my own desktop application to carry out various engineering tasks such as safety calculations etc.
I will keep up-to-date with this, if you require anything regards to programming I may be able to assist