Scorp,
I did my instrument rating in 3 months last winter, flying nights/weekends. Took just about 45 hours of instruction for the rating, and my DFE said it was one of the best checkrides he'd ever seen.
A VOR "A" approach (or "B" or "C") is a traditional VOR approach into an airport that doesn't have the runway aligned within 30 degrees of the approach path - so you have circling minimums. The "A" designator is just to identify the specific iteration of that approach - if is revised, it would be "B" and so on...
I think that it all started to click when we started doing x/c's to other airports - at our flight school, we start out doing multiple approaches into our home airport, so you're constantly trying to learn to apply all the book knowledge, fly the plane under the hood, set up for the next approach, talk to the controllers, etc. etc. Once you start to slow down the process, it gets easier to do cross-checks and everything. Then you can concentrate on the task at hand, which later lets you perform those multiple approaches much easier.
Just keep talking while you're practicing - I found that's the best way to really learn. Even now, I constantly mutter "Ok, on glideslope, within one-dot deflection, on course, correcting for wind, descending out of 2000 for 1640, VSI at 500, glideslope beneath, increasing descent rate slightly, 90 knots, pre-landing check complete, radios set, within one-dot deflection" etc. etc.
The majority of my training was done under the hood, both because we had good weather last winter, and anytime it got nasty, we had to worry about icing anyways, so we couldn't fly in the soup. I really never noticed *that* much difference between the hood and actual (except for the initial "gosh, there really isn't anything out there" thought), mostly because I am much more comfortable flying IFR than VFR. One thing that is a bit unsettling is the turbulence associated with clouds - it's harder to keep the airplane on course, so you should be very proficient at accurate instrument flight before attempting actual.
After I got my ticket, I took baby steps into increasing my solo time in actual. First, I flew some approaches into my home airport with about 800' ceilings. Then got some x/c straight-and-level in the clouds. Then transitioned to other airport approaches, so I never felt overwhelmed.
Hope that helps...