I'm really glad that it works, and please don't take this the wrong way... but the solder joints look awful.
The only reason I'm saying this is because I suspect that after repeated use, they might fail and you will have to redo them. Maybe redo them now?
May I ask what your soldering technique is? Did you by any chance try to apply the solder to the iron and then struggle to apply that to the pins? This is a common misconception among beginners, hence me asking - you're supposed to heat the pins with the iron and then apply solder to the heated pins, where it will flow into place. Also, applying flux beforehand will help with that.

Wait, there is an audio book version of this?