Welcome and congratulations on your upcoming donation!
I second the lotion and lip balm. I also brought a pair of comfortable, loose fitting sweatpants. (they were adjustable/tied at the waste) I also brought my favorite pair of comfortable slippers.
As far as recovery time, everyone is going to be different. I found I tended to tire easily for the first several weeks. As far as pain, I had pains in my chest and shoulder (from surgery the gas they use during surgery) that kicked in about a day and a half after surgery. This got better each day, but did take a few days to get rid of. Beyond that, I had the normal pain/soreness at the incision site. I also developed a rash on my abdomen that took several rounds of prednisone to get rid of. (I have not heard of this happening to very many donors).
You will want to make sure not to lift anything heavy until you are healed. (this will help avoid a hernia)
Walking is good, but don't overdo either. Listen to your body. If you are tired, nap.
I donated October 8, 2009 and my doctor wanted to me to be off 6 to 8 weeks. I ended up taking some extra vacation time and went back to work right after Thanksgiving that year. In my opinion, any pain or discomfort (and even the rash fiasco) was well worth it and I would do it all again, no question.
Best of luck to you. Please keep us updated and feel free to ask as many questions as you like. Everyone here is great and has so much good advice.
Linda