diff --git a/lib/FormulaRepo.py b/lib/FormulaRepo.py
index 2d9463c..587a9da 100644
--- a/lib/FormulaRepo.py
+++ b/lib/FormulaRepo.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-from git import Repo
+from lib import Utils
 import os
+import sh
 import sys
 
 class FormulaRepo():
@@ -14,34 +15,76 @@ class FormulaRepo():
         self.repo_url = formula.git_url
         self.repo_path = formula.local_path
 
+    # sets up our class' repo instance
+    def bake(self):
+        self.repo = sh.git.bake(_cwd=self.repo_path)
+
+    # list of git branches
+    def get_branches(self):
+        # define our branch array
+        branches = []
+        # fetch output of git branches
+        branch_lines = self.repo.branch()
+        # loop through the branches
+        for line in branch_lines:
+            bits = Utils.Utils.remove_ansi_from_list(line.split())
+            # check if the branch was marked as current
+            if bits[0] == '*':
+                branches.append(bits[1])
+            else:
+                branches.append(bits[0])
+
+        # return our list of branch names
+        return branches
+
+    # get current branch
+    def get_current_branch(self):
+        branches = self.repo.branch()
+        # loop through the branches
+        for line in branches:
+            bits = Utils.Utils.remove_ansi_from_list(line.split())
+            # check for if a branch is listed as current
+            if bits[0] == '*':
+                # return the branch name
+                return bits[1]
+
+        # return false if no branch is selected
+        return False
+
+    # switch to branch
+    def switch_branch(self, branch):
+        self.repo.checkout('branch')
+
     # retrieves repo from remote location
     def retrieve(self):
         # check if the destination directory exists
         if not os.path.exists(self.repo_path):
             # clone git repo
             print('Downloading ' + self.repo_url + ' into ' + self.repo_path)
-            self.repo = Repo.clone_from(self.repo_url, self.repo_path)
+            sh.git.clone(self.repo_url, self.repo_path)
         else:
             # let the user know it's already downloaded so we'll update it later
             print(self.repo_path + ' already exists, so we\'re not downloading it again.')
-            self.repo = Repo(self.repo_path)
+
+        # set up our class repo instance
+        self.bake()
 
     # check if the repo is up to date
     def check_tracking_info(self, branch):
         if branch != False:
             # tracking a specific branch on the repo
             # check to make sure that the given branch name actually exists first
-            if not branch in self.repo.branches:
+            if not branch in self.get_branches():
                 print('%s is not an existing branch name for %s - please fix this.' % (branch, self.repo_path))
                 sys.exit(1)
 
-            repo_branch = self.repo.head.reference
+            repo_branch = self.get_current_branch()
             # check to make sure that the current tracked branch is, in fact, what we want
-            if repo_branch != tracking_value:
-                self.repo.head.reference = repo_branch
+            if branch != repo_branch:
+                self.switch_branch(branch)
 
             # let the user know which branch we're using
-            print('For %s, we\'re using the %s branch.' % (self.repo_path, self.repo.head.reference))
+            print('For %s, we\'re using the \'%s\' branch.' % (self.repo_path, branch))
         else:
             # no branch was specified, so we're going with what's there
             print('Using the default/current branch for %s' % (self.repo_path))
@@ -51,4 +94,4 @@ class FormulaRepo():
     def pull_updates(self):
         print('Pulling updates for %s.' % self.repo_path)
         # git pull
-        self.repo.remotes.origin.pull()
+        self.repo.pull()
diff --git a/lib/Utils.py b/lib/Utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc7eaa7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/Utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import re
+
+class Utils():
+
+    # remove ANSI escape sequences from string
+    @staticmethod
+    def remove_ansi(string):
+        ansi_escape = re.compile(r'\x1b[^m]*m')
+        return ansi_escape.sub('', string)
+
+    # removes ANSI escape sequences from a list of strings
+    @staticmethod
+    def remove_ansi_from_list(l):
+        for index, element in enumerate(l):
+            l[index] = Utils.remove_ansi(element)
+
+        return l
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index bd57e5a..b22414b 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-GitPython
+sh
 PyYaml