DE= Designated Examiner. The person who does your checkride.

I used to fly weekends only in big chunks of time - and I liked it. It really gave me the opportunity to be introduced to a bit of info and then practice it. I would also intermix ground into the day as well. HOWEVER, after I got my private, I started flying daily - and my skill improved ten fold just being in the airplane every day instead of a day a week for a long time.

I'd also vote for the 152. I learned in a 152 and 172 - have a BLAST in training!