diff --git a/.terraform.lock.hcl b/.terraform.lock.hcl
index 6ebcb8c..153af9b 100644
--- a/.terraform.lock.hcl
+++ b/.terraform.lock.hcl
@@ -1,6 +1,25 @@
 # This file is maintained automatically by "terraform init".
 # Manual edits may be lost in future updates.
 
+provider "registry.terraform.io/hashicorp/archive" {
+  version = "2.4.0"
+  hashes = [
+    "h1:cJokkjeH1jfpG4QEHdRx0t2j8rr52H33A7C/oX73Ok4=",
+    "zh:18e408596dd53048f7fc8229098d0e3ad940b92036a24287eff63e2caec72594",
+    "zh:392d4216ecd1a1fd933d23f4486b642a8480f934c13e2cae3c13b6b6a7e34a7b",
+    "zh:655dd1fa5ca753a4ace21d0de3792d96fff429445717f2ce31c125d19c38f3ff",
+    "zh:70dae36c176aa2b258331ad366a471176417a94dd3b4985a911b8be9ff842b00",
+    "zh:78d5eefdd9e494defcb3c68d282b8f96630502cac21d1ea161f53cfe9bb483b3",
+    "zh:7d8c8e3925f1e21daf73f85983894fbe8868e326910e6df3720265bc657b9c9c",
+    "zh:a032ec0f0aee27a789726e348e8ad20778c3a1c9190ef25e7cff602c8d175f44",
+    "zh:b8e50de62ba185745b0fe9713755079ad0e9f7ac8638d204de6762cc36870410",
+    "zh:c8ad0c7697a3d444df21ff97f3473a8604c8639be64afe3f31b8ec7ad7571e18",
+    "zh:df736c5a2a7c3a82c5493665f659437a22f0baf8c2d157e45f4dd7ca40e739fc",
+    "zh:e8ffbf578a0977074f6d08aa8734e36c726e53dc79894cfc4f25fadc4f45f1df",
+    "zh:efea57ff23b141551f92b2699024d356c7ffd1a4ad62931da7ed7a386aef7f1f",
+  ]
+}
+
 provider "registry.terraform.io/hashicorp/aws" {
   version     = "4.67.0"
   constraints = "~> 4.16"
diff --git a/configUtils.py b/configUtils.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 9883e7b..0000000
--- a/configUtils.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-from configparser import ConfigParser
-import json
-import boto3
-import os
-from collections import defaultdict
-
-
-def findConfig() -> str:
-  """
-  Finds config file locally
-
-  :return: string of config file location
-  """
-  # searches for main file, falls back to example file if not found
-  fileList = [
-    './reddit.cfg',
-    '../reddit.cfg',
-    '../../reddit.cfg',
-    './example_reddit.cfg',
-    '../example_reddit.cfg',
-    '../../example_reddit.cfg'
-  ]
-  for f in fileList:
-    if os.path.exists(f):
-      return f
-  raise RuntimeError("Reddit config file not found. Place it in either ./ or ../")
-
-
-DEFAULT_KEYS = {
-  'reddit_api': ['CLIENTID', 'CLIENTSECRET', 'PASSWORD', 'USERNAME'],
-  'S3_access': ['ACCESSKEY', 'SECRETKEY', ],
-  'Discord': ['BOTTOKEN', 'MYSNOWFLAKEID', 'CHANNELSNOWFLAKEID'],
-  'Postgres': ['USERNAME', 'PASSWORD', 'HOST', 'PORT', 'DATABASE']
-}
-
-
-def parseConfig(
-  cfgFile: str,
-  keysToRead: dict = None
-) -> dict:
-  """
-  Read in the config data from a location to a dictionary and return that dictionary.
-
-  :param cfgFile: location of config file. Can be an S3 location
-  :param keysToRead:
-  :return: config dictionary
-  """
-  if keysToRead is None:
-    keysToRead = DEFAULT_KEYS
-  parser = ConfigParser()
-  cfg = defaultdict(dict)
-
-  if cfgFile[:2].lower() == 's3':
-    s3 = boto3.client('s3')
-    pathSplit = cfgFile.replace('s3://', '').split('/')
-    bucket = pathSplit[0]
-    objLoc = '/'.join(pathSplit[1:])
-    obj = s3.get_object(Bucket=bucket, Key=objLoc)
-    _ = parser.read_string(obj['Body'].read().decode())
-  else:
-    _ = parser.read(cfgFile)
-  for k, vList in keysToRead.items():
-    for v in vList:
-      cfg[k][v] = json.loads(parser.get(k, v))  # json helps with list conversion
-  return cfg
diff --git a/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/lambda_function.py b/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/lambda_function.py
index 15f17a0..37844d8 100644
--- a/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/lambda_function.py
+++ b/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/lambda_function.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import redditUtils as ru
-import configUtils as cu
+import viral_reddit_posts_utils.configUtils as cu
 import tableDefinition
 import praw
 import boto3
@@ -41,9 +41,8 @@ def lambda_handler(event, context):
     risingData = ru.deduplicateRedditData(risingData)
 
     # Push to DynamoDB
-    tableName = view
-    risingRawTableDefinition = tableDefinition.getTableDefinition(tableName)
-    risingTable = ru.getOrCreateTable(risingRawTableDefinition, dynamodb_resource)
+    tableName = f"{view}-{os.environ['ENV']}"
+    risingTable = ru.getTable(tableName, dynamodb_resource)
     ru.batchWriter(risingTable, risingData, schema)
 
     # Get Hot Reddit data
@@ -55,9 +54,8 @@ def lambda_handler(event, context):
     hotData = ru.deduplicateRedditData(hotData)
 
     # Push to DynamoDB
-    tableName = view
-    hotTableDefinition = tableDefinition.getTableDefinition(tableName)
-    hotTable = ru.getOrCreateTable(hotTableDefinition, dynamodb_resource)
+    tableName = f"{view}-{os.environ['ENV']}"
+    hotTable = ru.getTable(tableName, dynamodb_resource)
     ru.batchWriter(hotTable, hotData, schema)
 
   return 200
diff --git a/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/redditUtils.py b/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/redditUtils.py
index b2561a5..d7ddac7 100644
--- a/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/redditUtils.py
+++ b/lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/redditUtils.py
@@ -92,22 +92,8 @@ def deduplicateRedditData(data):
   return newData
 
 
-def getOrCreateTable(tableDefinition, dynamodb_resource):
-    existingTables = [a.name for a in dynamodb_resource.tables.all()]  # client method: dynamodb_client.list_tables()['TableNames']
-    tableName = tableDefinition['TableName']
-    if tableName not in existingTables:
-      print(f"Table {tableName} not found, creating table")
-      # create table
-      # boto3: https://boto3.amazonaws.com/v1/documentation/api/latest/reference/services/dynamodb/service-resource/create_table.html#DynamoDB.ServiceResource.create_table
-      # dynamodb keyschemas and secondary indexes: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/HowItWorks.CoreComponents.html
-      table = dynamodb_resource.create_table(**tableDefinition)
-
-      # Wait until the table exists.
-      table.wait_until_exists()
-
-    else:
-      print(f"Table {tableName} exists, grabbing table...")
-      table = dynamodb_resource.Table(tableName)
+def getTable(tableName, dynamodb_resource):
+    table = dynamodb_resource.Table(tableName)
 
     # Print out some data about the table.
     print(f"Item count in table: {table.item_count}")  # this only updates every 6 hours
diff --git a/main.tf b/main.tf
index f937e59..9da605e 100644
--- a/main.tf
+++ b/main.tf
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ variable "info" {
   default = {
     name      = "viralredditposts"
     env       = "dev"
+    region    = "us-east-2"
     pyversion = "3.7"
   }
 }
@@ -30,11 +31,21 @@ locals {
 }
 
 # zip the lambda function
-resource "null_resource" "zip_function" {
-  provisioner "local-exec" {
-    command    = "./scripts/zipLambdaFunction.sh -f getRedditDataFunction"
-    on_failure = fail # OR continue
-  }
+# resource "null_resource" "zip_function" {
+#   # rebuild zip each time, this is low cost and good for forcing it to upload each terraform apply
+#   triggers = {
+#     build_number = timestamp()
+#   }
+#   provisioner "local-exec" {
+#     command    = "./scripts/zipLambdaFunction.sh -f getRedditDataFunction"
+#     on_failure = fail # OR continue
+#   }
+# }
+
+data "archive_file" "lambda_zip" {
+  type        = "zip"
+  source_dir  = "./lambdaFunctions/getRedditDataFunction/"
+  output_path = "./scripts/zippedLambdaFunction/getRedditDataFunction.zip"
 }
 
 # zip the PRAW and boto3 packages
@@ -45,7 +56,7 @@ resource "null_resource" "zip_python_packages" {
     build_number = timestamp()
   }
   provisioner "local-exec" {
-    command    = "source venv/bin/activate && ./scripts/zipPythonPackage.sh -v ${var.info.pyversion} praw==7.7.0 boto3==1.26.117"
+    command    = "source venv/bin/activate && ./scripts/zipPythonPackage.sh -v ${var.info.pyversion} praw==7.7.0 boto3==1.26.117 git+https://github.com/ViralRedditPosts/Utils.git@main"
     on_failure = fail # OR continue
   }
 }
@@ -78,6 +89,20 @@ resource "aws_s3_object" "move_boto3_zip" {
   }
 }
 
+# add git+https://github.com/ViralRedditPosts/Utils.git@main to S3
+resource "aws_s3_object" "move_utils_zip" {
+  depends_on = [null_resource.zip_python_packages]
+
+  bucket = "packages-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}"
+  key    = "Utils.git@main.zip"
+  source = "./scripts/zippedPythonPackages/Utils.git@main/Utils.git@main.zip"
+  tags = {
+    Name        = "utils-zip"
+    Environment = "${var.info.env}"
+    Project     = "viral-reddit-posts"
+  }
+}
+
 # define policy for attaching role
 data "aws_iam_policy_document" "assume_role" {
   statement {
@@ -99,11 +124,15 @@ data "aws_iam_policy_document" "inline_policy" {
     effect = "Allow"
     actions = [
       "s3:GetObject",
-      "s3:ListBucket"
+      "s3:ListBucket",
+      "dynamodb:DescribeTable",
+      "dynamodb:BatchWriteItem"
     ]
     resources = [
       "arn:aws:s3:::data-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}",
-      "arn:aws:s3:::data-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}/*"
+      "arn:aws:s3:::data-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}/*",
+      "arn:aws:dynamodb:${var.info.region}:${local.account_id}:table/hot-${var.info.env}",
+      "arn:aws:dynamodb:${var.info.region}:${local.account_id}:table/rising-${var.info.env}"
     ]
   }
 }
@@ -146,15 +175,28 @@ resource "aws_lambda_layer_version" "boto3_layer" {
   s3_bucket                = "packages-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}"
   s3_key                   = "boto3==1.26.117.zip"
   layer_name               = "boto3-1_26_117"
-  description              = "python binaries for pboto3==1.26.117 library"
+  description              = "python binaries for boto3==1.26.117 library"
+  compatible_architectures = ["x86_64"]
+  compatible_runtimes      = ["python${var.info.pyversion}"]
+}
+
+resource "aws_lambda_layer_version" "utils_layer" {
+  depends_on = [aws_s3_object.move_boto3_zip]
+  # you either have to specify a local filename or the s3 object
+  # https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs/resources/lambda_layer_version
+  # filename   = "lambda_layer_payload.zip"
+  s3_bucket                = "packages-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}"
+  s3_key                   = "Utils.git@main.zip"
+  layer_name               = "utils_layer"
+  description              = "python binaries for Utils.git@main library"
   compatible_architectures = ["x86_64"]
   compatible_runtimes      = ["python${var.info.pyversion}"]
 }
 
 # make lambda function
 # https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs/resources/lambda_function
-resource "aws_lambda_function" "test_lambda" {
-  depends_on = [resource.null_resource.zip_function]
+resource "aws_lambda_function" "lambda_function" {
+  # depends_on = [resource.null_resource.zip_function]
 
   filename      = "./scripts/zippedLambdaFunction/getRedditDataFunction.zip"
   function_name = "lambda-reddit-scraping-${var.info.env}"
@@ -167,11 +209,18 @@ resource "aws_lambda_function" "test_lambda" {
     size = 512 # Min 512 MB and the Max 10240 MB
   }
 
-  layers = [aws_lambda_layer_version.praw_layer.arn, aws_lambda_layer_version.boto3_layer.arn]
+  layers = [
+    aws_lambda_layer_version.praw_layer.arn, 
+    aws_lambda_layer_version.boto3_layer.arn,
+    aws_lambda_layer_version.utils_layer.arn,
+    ]
+
+  source_code_hash = data.archive_file.lambda_zip.output_base64sha256
 
   environment {
     variables = {
-      AWS_BUCKET = "data-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}"
+      AWS_BUCKET = "data-${var.info.name}-${var.info.env}-${local.account_id}",
+      ENV        = "${var.info.env}"
     }
   }
   tags = {
diff --git a/scripts/zipPythonPackage.sh b/scripts/zipPythonPackage.sh
index 42946bb..54fc07f 100755
--- a/scripts/zipPythonPackage.sh
+++ b/scripts/zipPythonPackage.sh
@@ -27,9 +27,15 @@ cd $SCRIPT_PATH
 
 for package in "$@"; do
   echo "Preparing ${package}..."
-  mkdir -p ./zippedPythonPackages/${package}/python
+  # format the zip file. needed for the git packages which have lots of slashes.
+  if [[ ${package} == "git+"* ]]; then
+    package_name=${package##*/}  # https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3162385/how-to-split-a-string-in-shell-and-get-the-last-field
+  else
+    package_name=${package}
+  fi
+  mkdir -p ./zippedPythonPackages/${package_name}/python
 
-  cd ./zippedPythonPackages/${package}/python
+  cd ./zippedPythonPackages/${package_name}/python
 
   # install binaries for package
   pip install \
@@ -43,9 +49,9 @@ for package in "$@"; do
   rm -rf *dist-info  # some cleanup of unnecessary stuff
   # zip package
   cd ..
-  rm -rf ${package}.zip # remove first if it exists
-  echo "Zipping ${package} at $(pwd)"
-  zip -r ${package}.zip python  # zip contents of python to zip name
+  rm -rf ${package_name}.zip # remove first if it exists
+  echo "Zipping ${package_name} at $(pwd)"
+  zip -r ${package_name}.zip python  # zip contents of python to zip name
   cd ../../ # go back out to scripts dir
 done