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Michele, welcome to the digital world. With the Nikon you actually don't even need a meter. Once you take your picture, you can view a histogram of the image. This lets you know if any of the values have been clipped off, be they shadows or high lights. You can adjust your exposure by 1/3 of a stop increments in either direction. There is also a high light preview which graphically indicates which, if any, light areas have been blown out to white. This is about as idiot proof as you can get.
I would also suggest buying Nikon Capture software which allows you to edit Raw files and make very subtle adjustments without compromising the original data of the shot.
The kit lens will come in handy if you can't get sufficiently back from the subject (in the event of a full figure) or want to get a wider expanse of background. I would suggest both. They are both great lenses for the money. When I purchased my 70-300 lens, Nikon was running rebates, so it cost me $250. It's great for zooming in to get critical detail. The 80-200 Nikon lens is even sharper but is much much heavier and costs about $1600. The rebates may still be in effect.
The D70 is a full featured camera and not a stripped down version of a better model. I love mine.
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